Beyond the Edge
by Ayla Curtis
Summary: Complete. Through an unknown power, Kain finds himself transported to a world dominated by Hylden. Begins at the end of LoK: Defiance. Now with extras. Additional 2 now posted.
1. C 01 Arrival

Disclaimer – All characters and concepts are copyright of their respective owners.

_Author's Note – Please review! This is the first time I've done a fanfic and I'd appreciate feedback. Plus the fact that there is no point in finishing the blasted thing if nobody likes it. I will do my very best to reply to any questions I receive. Comments, criticisms and suggestions are all welcome._

_Thank you for being bothered to read this._

**Beyond the Edge**

**By Ayla Curtis**

Chapter One

Kain gazed out from his vantage point in the ancient Vampire citadel at the scene he knew so well; the shattered Pillars of Nosgoth that he, his younger self in this era, had caused not even half and hour ago. So much had happened in such a short space of time. He could feel the power of the completed, pure Soul Reaver humming in his claws.

So much...Raziel...hope...

Could he still manage it? Would he still be able to return to his duty as the Balance Guardian and restore the Pillars? Raziel had thought so, in those brief few moments before he had willingly been imprisoned within the serpentine blade.

Kain frowned to no-one but himself and cast aside his doubting. Raziel hadn't made his sacrifice so that Kain could stand around and start pondering over the futility of his plans; he had believed that the Scion of Balance _would_ prevail. He had to if the Hylden were to be permanently expelled and Nosgoth restored.

But...Everything Kain had ever had planned had been based around his knowledge _before_ the revelations and events that had just occurred. Now he had to re-think his strategies, for not only had the players changed but so had the entire game itself.

He hadn't come this far just to give up at the last hurdle. On the brighter side; at least now he would not have to make allowances for surprise arrivals and he knew exactly what was being planned; the causes and consequences and his role in it all.

He turned away from the scene determined to right the wrongs that he had thought were caused by himself for so long. He shook his head as if to dislodge the final threads of uncertainty and swore himself to his task.

He returned the Soul Reaver to its place upon his back and then made to leave, but as he did so a sound reached his ears that can only be described as a metallic 'pling'. Something small and shiny twirled through the air and landed at his clawed feet.

It was a coin.

He looked around to see where it had come from but the chamber was completely empty and he could not hear any other people or creatures. He was the sole occupant of the chamber.

This couldn't be good. Was this the Elder God playing some kind of trick, or making a silent statement by giving him a coin _side_ down?

More than likely, but it didn't really seem his style...

He crouched down to pick it up but as his claws reached out to take it, it began to spin just as a coin does when it stops, but in reverse. It was gathering speed and in barely three seconds it was spinning on its edge and was still speeding up to the point that it became a blur.

He instinctively backed away from it but it was already too late. He couldn't tear his gaze from it as the chamber around him began to fade away into shadow and disappear leaving him alone in an eternity of blackness at the centre of which the gold blur continued to spin.

Although the dark lasted for only a few moments it felt like an infinity of time before the shadow had faded away and Kain found that he was no longer in the Vampire citadel at all. The coin lay still on the floor...the bare boards of a wooden floor that was rotten and crumbling.

Wherever he was...he wished he was not there.

Apprehensive glances showed him that he was in a hall of sorts, a long hall that might once have been a grand meeting place but now was long forgotten and abandoned by the people that built it. It was empty; there were no signs of life within it but for himself, not even a bird or an insect. He wasn't sure if that was something to be thankful for or something to worry about. On one hand it meant that there was no-one around that may have a desire to tear him limb from limb, but on the other hand it also meant that there was no-one around who might wish to tell him what had just happened, where he was or what he should be doing.

It wasn't fair...why couldn't they just leave him alone for once? Was it too much to ask to have just five minutes rest? Well, it was time to take a walk. If no-one was going to come to him and explain, he would go to them and beat an answer out of them. That generally worked.

The long hall had but one exit and entrance; two double doors that were fixed open on rusted hinges which made him feel rather uneasy, nothing was ever that simple. He took the coin from the floor, just in case, secreted it about his person and then left the hall.

It turned out that it _was_ that easy, mainly because it was what lay beyond the hall that _really_ troubled him.

He recognised this place...he could feel that he knew it...yet nothing was as he remembered.

The place he emerged in had the feel of the Sanctuary of the Clans, but it was nothing like how he had left it. All of the stone was gone and replaced with a wooden structure of halls that led of from the main chamber: the Pillars chamber.

And as for the Pillars...

"No...no it can't be!" He shook his head in despair at what he now saw before him.

They were completely collapsed - not even the smallest of stumps poked out from the ground...All but for the Balance Pillar which was now jet black and split in two halves straight down the centre. It was only Kain's throne that kept the two halves from falling away from each other and crashing to the floor. The Binding was broken and Balance completely destroyed.

Almost in a daze he padded over to it and laid his claws on the stone, it began to crumble at his touch and he snatched his hands away before any more damage was caused. What had happened? Was he already too late? What tragedy had befallen the Sanctuary that had caused its demolition?

"Ariel?" he called for the spirit of the murdered guardian to come to him, of all people she should have the answers he was so desperate to hear. "Ariel?!" But there was no reply. No wavering ghost came before him, no spectral voice speaking through the planes between life and death. Silence prevailed.

Panic stricken, Kain ran from the Pillars without daring to look back again and found that not only they, but Nosgoth herself had changed.

Gone was the barren wasteland that had been his empire, gone were the mutated spawn of his evolved lieutenants. In their place was an amazing sight and a wonder to behold, but all the same it made him desperately sick to his stomach for he knew what the sight meant with architecture the likes of which he had seen only once before.... In the Hylden city. It was unmistakable, all clean cut defined lines, curved spikes, smooth grey stone and blued metal. The architecture, artwork and designs took the depraved form of biology and technology combined. There were the terribly familiar slopes instead of stairs, nauseating green lights and pools of water.

Human men, women and children walked to and fro on unknown errands and as he passed amongst them they paid him no attention, not even the slightest of glances. They kept their heads bowed and their eyes to the floor as they continued with the tasks that they had.

What was happening?! Where was he? If this was indeed a Hylden city then where were the Hylden, and why could he sense the presence of vampires? It was a weak presence, as though there were very few of them, but they were there all the same.

The streets of this city were crowded with humans and every wall was lined with decorated doors, huge sheet glass windows and Glyph energy boxes as well as power lines and posters written in a Hylden language that he was unable to read.

Fear was seeping through his body and filing him with icy dread, as each person passed and ignored him while he surveyed this new and seemingly Hylden dominated Nosgoth.

There was a gasp from behind him and he turned to see a young male vampire that looked not unlike how his lieutenants had been before their main evolutions; with clawed hands and feet, pallid skin, shiny black hair and pointed ears. There appeared to be some kind of cage around the lower half of his face, like a muzzle and about his neck was fixed a collar bearing Glyph symbols.

The vampire took one look at Kain, squeaked something incoherent and ran away.

Kain was left bemused and staring blankly at the spot in which the vampire had been standing. But he wasn't staring for long. He had had enough and tore after the vampire without thinking to care who or what he might run into. It was easy enough to catch up to him; the vampire was not very fast at all, practically limited to human speed...and a slow human at that. Kain grabbed him roughly by the throat and held him up off the floor while his cloven feet kicked against the air. And still the humans carried on as though nothing was happening, even though they were in the middle of a crowded street.

The vampire in his grip was screeching like it was on fire.

"Silence!" Kain demanded in a tone that ensured the vampire that disobeying was not an option that could be survived.

He did as he was told with great haste and also stopped wriggling just to be on the safe side. Intense terror blazed in his eyes.

"I take it by your reaction that you know who I am." Kain said calmly.

The vampire shook his head.

Kain frowned. "Then why did you run from me?"

No sound passed the vampires firmly closed black lips.

"Speak." Kain squeezed his throat a little tighter. "If you do not speak then you may spell out your answers in your own blood." he gave him a shake to punctuate his statement. Just as always, a well placed threat gained him what he desired.

"You're wild!" he yelped and closed his eyes.

"Wild? What do you mean by that?"

"You belong to no-one!"

Kain laughed. "Of course, I serve no man or god but myself." He released his hold and the vampire dropped to the ground. "Do not attempt to run away again." he then warned him.

The vampire was not suicidal and stayed put with his eyes firmly fixed on his claws.

"What happened here? What is this place and how were the Hylden freed?"

The vampire looked puzzled. "But that is ancient history..."

"_Ancient_?!"

"Please...sir...I must go now...if I am late my Lady Lorfae will be most displeased."

This place...had it been this way for centuries? Had the Pillars finally succumbed _thousands of years ago_? The Hylden were in control and by the sounds of things all other life and un-life were powerless under their rule...or at least it seemed that way...but there had been no Hylden around, and what of these 'wild vampires' that he was apparently one of?

"Who are you?" Kain asked the vampire.

The vampire opened his mouth to reply, thought about what had just been asked of him and then closed it again. He shrugged.

"You do not know your own name?" Kain asked him doubtfully.

"My Lady Lorfae sometimes refers to me as Jor." He said helpfully.

"Who is this 'Lady Lorfae' you speak of so reverently?"

"My owner. Please, I must go now."

"No one _owns_ you, Jor. Do as you please. You are a vampire after all." Kain told him sincerely.

"Such statements are suicidal." Jor replied with a shaking voice. "Those kinds of thoughts are the ones that bring pain and misery to all people...I...I will have to...to...to report you..."

What kind of pathetic creature was this? Surely vampire blood could not have worn so thin that Jor was the product of their evolution.

A storm cloud thundered overhead. It was going to rain. This fact did not bother Kain in the least, for he had long since been immune to such trivial amounts of water but Jor stared imploringly at the grey sky above him. "Oh, please no..." he didn't wait for Kain to give him permission, he simply ran and this time round Kain did not chase after him. Instead he watched the vampire run as the rain began to pour.

_What hell have I been sent to? _Kain wondered to himself as he held out his claws to catch the falling water. At least the weather was the same. He walked on through the downpour that plastered his hair to his back and his half cloak to his shoulder. Thunder rolled across the heavens but no lightning was offered. _This must be an illusion...it has to be._

He didn't know how long he wandered as he ran similar thoughts through his head over and over again, trying in vain to work out what had occurred and where exactly he had been sent. The only knowledge he gained was that thinking too hard for too long gave you a headache. His blind drifting brought him through many places and he did well to keep himself to the shadows so that other vampires would not spot him and decide to 'report' him...Whatever that was supposed to mean, it didn't sound like the kind of thing you looked forward to. He saw a few other vampires and they were all pretty much the same as Jor or a female version thereof, from their hair to their feet and even the collar and the muzzle they wore. Every single one of them that he saw had the same worried expression, as though they thought that every step they took would take them closer to some unknown torture or punishment and every person they passed was going to turn on them. Any sharp movements from the humans around them would cause the vampires to jump or cower behind their own claws in fright. Kain made sure to stay hidden.

The rain stopped after an hour and eventually he came across a kind of town square, absent of all vampires but packed with humans who were all still doing their mute duties.

But still no Hylden.

Wait...there _was_ a vampire here. At the centre of the square two thin columns rose and between them the vampire female had been chained.

Seeing that there were only humans present Kain ventured to pass them and reach the poor wretch's side to see if, perhaps, she could be of more use to him.

She was in a sorry state; thin black burns streaked her pale skin where the rain drops had fallen and the shackles bit into and cut her wrists, causing them to continually bleed. She too wore a muzzle and collar, but unlike the other vampires' her hair was pure white...remarkably like his own.

She was barely conscious as he gently placed one claw under her chin and tilted her head to get a better look at her face. The resemblance was uncanny; they could have been family. He let her head fall down again as he tried to absorb all of what he was seeing.

Her head then rose once more but this time it was she who was moving it. "Cruel eyes," she said as she looked up at him, "Why do you torment me with this illusion?" she appeared to be talking to herself.

"I am no illusion." He assured her. "I am as real as you are."

"No...you're just a dream..." she whispered. "That's all you ever are...a dream..." her head sunk back down and her eyes closed.

He nudged her shoulder gently but received no reply. She had finally lost consciousness.

A dream? She dreamed of him, yet Jor had no idea who he was. Why did _this_ young vampire know him when others did not...and why did she look like him in his younger years? Such questions could only be answered if he was able to wake her from her coma, and he would not be able to do so if he left her out here. He reached for the shackles -

"No! You can't do that!" It was Jor.

"And why ever not?" Kain enquired pleasantly.

"Because she doesn't belong to you...you can't just take another persons property without their agreement; that's a crime."

"Do I look as though I hold a single care for your laws?"

"Please leave...you're going to get hurt if you don't...I'm not supposed to be here, stranger, I just came to warn you that you have been reported." He saw the look Kain gave him and sped up his words "But not by me! By the workers." He gestured to the humans who still took no notice.

Kain gave them all a look of general disgust "Pathetic scum."

"I will be punished now, for warning you...they will tell my Lady Lorfae." He sounded petrified.

"Then why did you?"

"Because...because what is wild should remain so..." Jor looked around nervously and then hurried away once more.

So, the humans were not as unobservant as they had first seemed. If that was indeed the case then he probably didn't have a lot of time.

The chains were durable and made of thick iron but Kain had the instrument to fix that problem. The Soul Reaver made light work of slicing through the metal and the girl fell to the floor.

The silent human betrayers still carried on with their errands but made note of his every move.

Kain was amazed at how light she was, and it was only now that he was holding her that he realised just how badly she must have been treated. Her sunken skin was pulled taught over her bones, and there seemed to be hardly a single muscle left in her body to support her. She might have been beautiful once but whatever she had been put through had scraped the beauty away until she was just another vampire, but covered in rain burns. They should heal, in time.

He took her and backtracked though the streets to the one place that he had seen empty; the wooden halls around the dead Pillars. Although how long they would stay empty was debatable, for after all; spies watched his every step.

He still couldn't believe what had happened to the Pillars. As he re-entered the decaying wooden structure he saw them once again and tried to piece together what he knew while he laid the tortured vampire girl in the throne. It wasn't the most comfortable of places to sit in (he knew that personally) but it would have to do and he didn't really think that she cared for she was in a coma after all.

Jor had told him that the destruction of the Pillars and the release of the Hylden was _ancient_ history. So somehow, during whatever had occurred while the coin had spun, he had been transported into another time that seemed to be Nosgoth's perverted future...

_Too be continued......_


	2. C 02 Blood

Chapter Two

While the vampire female rested in his throne Kain paced the around the rubble that was all that was left of the Pillars of Nosgoth.

_Ancient history...this is ancient to these people...if the Hylden are free then what happened, what went wrong..._

He was going to get to the bottom of this, he didn't care who he had to threaten or kill to reach the answers he wanted; he _would_ find out. And hopefully...this girl who seemed to carry his appearance would know something of value. She was the only one who seemed to recognise him...even if to her he was just a dream.

He picked up a slab of shattered stone from the floor and inspected it, he recognised the fragment of symbol that adorned it and realised that what he held was a piece of the Pillar of Time.

If this was indeed the future of Nosgoth then it would seem that everything he was striving to achieve was simply a waste of time and effort and all of his suffering and the suffering he had caused to others was for nothing, Raziel's damning and self sacrifice would make no difference and every move Kain had played against fate would be miscalculated and worthless.

The realisation was crushing; he would fail.

Perhaps it was time to give up and stop fighting. Perhaps he should just lay down the Soul Reaver and accept the inevitable. Maybe he could find a time streaming device and take himself to place in history where he could fade into obscurity and be forgotten, no longer hunted, no longer relied upon.

He would fail.

_I will fail..._

The fragment slipped out of his claws and broke into further pieces as it hit the floor.

_It's over..._

A soft moan echoed in the chamber as the mystery dreamer began to wake.

The girl opened her bleary eyes and surveyed the place in which she had been seated. "Hnh...How-," she had to stop to cough loudly before she could continue, "-how did I get here?" Her words were slow; she was so weak that she could barely control her own voice.

Kain didn't look at her, but did address her. "I carried you."

She looked around and spotted him. "You again...so I am still drea-"

He interrupted. "No, you are not dreaming." _Although I wish you were._

"...Am I dead now? Did they finally kill me?"

"No. You are still alive, in a sense...un-dead."

"Oh." She sounded disappointed. "Then, who _are_ you?"

In a defeated tone he replied. "No-one."

"Everyone is someone. Are you a Vetus?"

He had no idea what a 'Vetus' was but shook his head. "My name is Kain."

Her face twisted into an expression of severe confusion. "That can't be right..."

He turned to face her. "It is."

"But...you're dead...you were destroyed centuries ago, never to be resurrected again."

"Well I am terribly sorry to disappoint you."

"Disappoint? Surprise, yes. Disappoint, never."

"How is it that you recognise me when it seems that all others do not?" he ambled over to the throne, avoiding some of the larger chunks of rubble.

"How did you return?"

He leaned in close. "Are you going to answer my question or not?"

"Yes, of course...I just..." she paused and sighed. "It isn't allowed but I studied the old legends; the written ones made by the workers, not the sovereigns."

"The sovereigns? Do you mean the Hylden?"

"Yes, they were once called that, a very long time ago."

"And the workers...were they once called humans?"

"Yes. Please...will you now answer _my_ question?"

"...?" He replayed their conversation in his head. "I...can't say."

Strangely she didn't reply...she was starting to lean forward and he barely caught her before she fell out of the throne towards the floor. She needed to feed; that much was obvious but he had no way of helping her in this regard. The muzzled fixed around her face like a scold's bridal without the tongue piece ensured that there was no way she could bite anything through the thin bars and he could not use the Soul Reaver to cut it off without slicing her head in two at the same time. As it was he had had to leave the shackles on her for similar reasons. The muzzle was fixed tight and no matter how hard he pulled at it he could not get it to break. And the strange thing about it was that there was no lock or hinges to it, no way to get it on or off...it was though it had been forged around her head and left there and there had never been any intention of removing it. The same could be said for the Glyph bedecked collar, the purpose of which was unknown.

Perhaps...he could somehow heat the metal; that way it would become softer and easier to break. He wasn't going to let her die when she was his only link to the answers he needed and the only way to keep her alive was to get her to feed.

A smithy. That was what he needed, there had to be blacksmiths in this city; the muzzle itself was proof of that. Now all he had to do was find one of the blasted things before she starved to death while trapped in a coma. He supposed that a good fire and a shaft of metal would do if he could lay his claws on them.

This was going to be another bad day, he could feel it. He supposed that he should be used to this sort of thing by now.

But as per usual nothing was going to be as simple and straightforward as it sounded. He never expected anything to be easy anymore; he had stopped expecting such straightforwardness since his resurrection. Waking up and looking at the inside of your own coffin tended to give you a more realistic perception of life.

He heard the sound of many marching feet...he recognised these feet and was not really surprised to see three armoured Hylden walk though the jammed open double doors that led from the street.

_Oh hell..._

One of the Hylden addressed him and pointed an accusing claw in his direction.

"Step aside from that pet, Vetus. Lord Caucahn is not a lenient man but perhaps if you co-operated he will grant you death rather than an eternity of torture."

The second Hylden turned to the previous speaker. "Why do you bother? You know full well that no Vetus has even the slightest concept of language."

Then the third decided to pipe up. "But see...this one is dressed. Perhaps it is an escaped pet that evolved."

"It is doubtful but possible." the second speaker replied.

Kain slowly stood and drew the Reaver.

All the Hylden gasped in unison. "No, it is impossible! It has stolen the Soul Reaver as well!"

"Do you wish to run," Kain asked them, "or shall I cut you down where you stand?"

"It speaks!"

But they weren't about to stand around and make it easy for him; they fanned out and began to circle him.

They all decided to attack at the same time but instead of striking the 'Vetus' vampire down they found that their swords swiped through only air. They all looked at each other in confusion and then the second Hylden speaker roared in pain. The other two watched in shock as the serpentine blade of the Reaver burst through their comrade's chest and as he then fell forwards off the sword and lay dead in an expanding pool of his own warm blood.

Kain gave a soft chuckle of delight; nothing made him feel better than a good fight. The world could burn for all he cared as long as the bloodlust coursed through his body and mind.

For a while he toyed with the Hylden by avoiding, goading and generally insulting them to amuse himself but eventually grew bored and killed them with cold indifference. The fight had been a refreshing and welcome distraction whilst it had lasted but it was time to be serious again. He pushed aside the almost childish giddiness produced by the bloodlust and refocused his thoughts away from the blood all around him and back to the comatose vampire girl who was still in his throne.

Even though she was thin to the point of emaciation and her white skin was streaked with burns, the expression on her face did not suggest that she had suffered as much as she must have. She looked as though she was only sleeping; somewhat at peace with the world, as though when her eyes were closed the world became a more beautiful place in which she could find amity and freedom from strife. He suddenly got the feeling that he shouldn't try to wake her and that perhaps leaving her to die was the kindest thing he could do.

But he was not feeling kind. He was feeling annoyed, he was feeling stressed, he was feeling violent and he was feeling that he wanted to rip someone's arm off and beat them to death with the wet end.

He was not a happy bunny.

He wanted out of this stupid game or whatever the hell was going on. He was sick of being led around and lied to. He was tired of always having to be responsible. He, just for once, wanted to be able to kick back and relax and not have to worry about the fate of the world resting on his weary shoulders.

The world...poor, dear Nosgoth...what had become of her?

Again his sight was drawn to the girl who resembled his younger self.

He scooped her up, slung her unceremoniously over his left shoulder and stalked back out into the night.

He found that the easiest way to move around the city undisturbed and unreported was to keep to the rooftops, out of sight. No one noticed him as he jogged along apart from a few startled crows and pigeons as he whizzed by on his little mission. With perfect night vision he scrutinized every building he came past and looked for any tell tale signs that would give away the location of a smithy but it were proving hard to come by. There was not a single one to be found, not even a closed one and this did nothing to improve his frosty mood.

He dumped his load down again and then sat down heavily beside her, his head in his claws.

_What the hell am I supposed to do?!_

He calmed himself down. Stressed caused mistakes and he didn't need any mistakes right now.

_Alright...we look at the facts..._

He had no idea what time or place he was in; this was not a good start.

The Hylden were free; this did not improve matters in the slightest.

Vampires appeared to be slaves unless they were 'Wild'; this made life rather difficult.

Basically, to summarise his situation in but a few words; he was screwed.

His only link to information was the girl...now, how to get the information out of her; get the muzzle off and feed her...how do we get the muzzle off; find a blacksmith or smithy and heat it up a bit? Well that idea had been thrown out of the window, so what next?

Well...

It didn't _have_ to be a smithy; a good hot fire and a poker should do the trick. And were did you find such items; in a house, of course. He was in a city and was surrounded by houses. Ah, things were beginning to look up.

It seemed that a little breaking and entering was in order. He picked the girl up yet again and then quietly stepped to the edge of the roof he was standing on, on the side that faced an empty alleyway.

Crouching down he could see the windows and saw that none of them were conveniently open...that would soon change.

A short fall later and he was on the ground, from there he sent out a telekinetic shot that shattered the nearest window through which he entered the house.

There were three humans in the room he jumped into, they looked at him, the man, the woman and child and they screamed before running for the door. Unfortunately they did not get much further, Kain killed them all on general principals and to prevent any further reporting, then bundled their bodies into a corner to keep them out of the way.

He dumped the girl into a tattered armchair, stoked up the fire in the fireplace until it roared and threw extra coals on to be sure, before taking the poker from the stand on the hearth and sticking it in the flames. He improved the heat of the fire with a few pyrokinetic blasts, making it blaze.

While the poker heated up he took an inventory of the room to see if there was anything of use to him. The humans that lived in this place had little in their possession and it seemed that this whole large room was what qualified as their house. There were two beds against one wall, the fireplace occupied another and the third held the door whilst the last had the now broken window. In the centre of the room were a couple of armchairs and that appeared to be just about it.

Soon the poker had heated up and once withdrawn from the fire it glowed red hot. That was good; he didn't want it to be white hot; that would be far _too_ hot. He only wanted to be able to heat up the metal, not burn the poor girl behind it.

His plan worked like a charm; the heat of the poker transferred to the metal of the muzzle in strategic places and allowed him to break it with ease, although he had to be careful so the heat did not then pass into the girls head, not to mention the fact that it took quite a while for the poker kept cooling down too fast. Eventually, however, the work was done and the muzzle dropped with a clang to the bare stone floor. Without it on she seemed even more fragile than before, there were sores on her face where the muzzle had worn against her skin and he considered the fact that, perhaps, this was the first time it had ever been removed since it was placed upon her.

Now she needed to feed...but she was unconscious and close to death. He looked briefly to the corpses slumped against the wall by the door and then decided against it; she needed something stronger than that, something to restore her, not just feed her. He knew what to do, he had never considered it before and he just hoped that it would work.

He tilted her head back and opened her mouth in preparation, then he removed his left arm guard and set it aside on the floor.

Now for the blood.

He pushed the thumb claw of his right hand into his left wrist; puncturing the skin and rupturing the blood vessels below. He then quickly held his self wounded wrist against the girl's mouth, making sure that her teeth were inside the jagged gash to prevent it from healing and stopping the blood flow.

As soon as his blood touched her tongue her eyes snapped open, but only for a brief moment. They instantly closed again as her claws raised to take a firm hold of Kain's arm and hand. Her teeth bit down hard and her mouth locked tight to his skin as her instinctive and suppressed bloodlust took over and guided her; a vampire who had never before used her fangs.

Kain grimaced as pain flared up his arm and he felt his blood being drawn out of him, but as he suspected it was just what she needed.

Before his very eyes the sores and burns on her skin healed and disappeared without even the smallest of scars and her body began to fill out again where the flesh and muscle had been lost; she regained her perfect hour glass figure that had before been shrivelled down to the build of an anorexic and from the withered, tortured girl he had found chained up in the Square a strong woman emerged, and there was undeniable hard muscle beside and under her soft feminine curves...she was no sheltered flower.

She was restored to her former self, but now a new problem arose; how was he going to get her to let go? She was enjoying it all too much and was very reluctant to release him. In the end he had to tear his arm away from her, causing even further damage to his wrist, but it healed as good as new, just as she had.

Her eyes opened again and fixed on the ceiling as she took in a few deep gulps of air and licked the remaining blood from her lips. She felt strange...there was something different...she felt stronger than she ever had and there was a sensation creeping around inside her as though electricity crackled through her bones. She felt alive, she felt powerful...and she felt as though she was missing something.

"What the hell just happened?" she gasped to the world in general. "Why do I feel like this?"

"I think that you may have acquired some of my Dark Gifts." Kain observed evenly as he put his arm guard on again.

"What? I don't understand..." she glanced at the floor and then her hands flew to her face. "My muzzle!"

"Yes, I removed it. How else do you think I was able to feed you?" he thought she would have been grateful to have that great chunk of metalwork off of her head, but instead her expression was that of someone who had just witnessed the signing of their own death sentence.

"This is a bad thing!" she wailed and covered her face with her hands in despair, although was fascinated by the feel of her claws against her cheeks; she couldn't remember the last time she had felt that...if she ever had before.

"You make no sense." He said as he stood up.

"Oh, look what you've done! Such a bad thing...bad, bad thing!" she was terrified.

"I don't have time for this." He hauled her up off the armchair and forced her to stand in front of him. "I have some questions and you are going to listen to them very carefully and once you have understood them you will answer them. Have I made myself clear?" his piercing glare cut straight through her and she found herself unable to tear herself from his gaze. She did not speak but her bottom lip trembled slightly.

"Do I make myself clear?" he asked again in an even firmer tone of voice

She nodded.

"Good, now, firstly; do you have a name?" he supposed he should start small rather than jumping straight in at the deep end.

"I..." she paused, just as Jor had when he had been asked the same question.

"Well how does your 'owner' address you?" he spat out the word 'owner' as though it left a filthy taste in his mouth and practically pronounced the inverted commas.

"Lord Caucahn simply calls me Pet," she said, "but my name is Khila."

Kain felt strangely relieved knowing that she believed herself to be an individual and not just a mindless slave like Jor and the other vampires he had seen. Now for the real question...though it was more of a _request_...and he was beginning to dread how she would reply, what she would tell him. He wondered if he was really prepared for the truth. He plunged on before he could change his mind. "Alright...I want you to relay to me the history of Nosgoth, from how my empire fell to this present day."

"You mean...you really do not know?"

"Would I ask if I did?"

She flinched at her own stupidity. "I suppose not." She sat down again and clasped her hands neatly in her lap. "Well...from everything I have been able to piece together, I have as yet been unable to pin point exactly how long ago the age of your empire ended but I think I know _what_ happened even without the _when_."

"Go ahead." He told her, crossing his arm across his chest and steeling his mind in preparation. He just hoped that he could take it.

Khila took a deep breath and began a shortened version of what she had read. "This comes from tales written by humans, vampires and Hylden so I don't know how much of it is false or biased, but it should be quite accurate even though I don't fully understand it myself. For reasons unknown by any man or creature but yourself, you left Nosgoth through a time streaming device but by doing so you not only left the land behind; you abandoned it and left it undefended. This was all the Hylden needed. During the time of the Sarafan Lord there were a good many Hylden in the world-"

"Until I destroyed the gate and killed them all." Kain interrupted with a hint of smugness.

"Yes...well...the Hylden, unlike vampires, are not sterile and still reproduce in the conventional sense, and they did. Many of these children where born out of the exile (although I have no idea what that is supposed to mean) and thus their ties were to Nosgoth and not the demon dimension where their parents drew their power. When the gate was destroyed all the Hylden died but for those that were Nosgoth-born who fled into hiding. Some months from that time they discovered an abandoned time streaming chamber not unlike the one that you were said to have used yourself much later and they set about exploring Nosgoth's time lines to see how they could use the device to their advantage. They found your abandoned empire and invaded. The vampires fought bravely but eventually they fell as the humans joined the Hylden's side and improved their numbers. The Hylden claimed Nosgoth then enslaved the humans and what was left of the vampires. Once that was completed a small retrieval party was sent to lure you back to your empire whereupon you were ambushed by a force of the Hylden's finest warriors and magic users. Many of them inevitably fell before you and the Soul Reaver but there were simply far too many of them for you to defend yourself against at one time and you were eventually captured." She paused. "Are you sure that you wish me to continue, sir?" she asked him. She was so used to servitude that the 'sir' just slipped into her sentence.

Something deep inside him begged him to tell her to end it but he was determined to gut it out and hear it through to the conclusion. "Yes."

"As you wish...after being captured you were brought before the Pillars and publicly executed; beheaded by the Soul Reaver which had been taken from you." She saw his expression. "I'm sorry." She added quietly.

"Don't stop." Kain told her. "I want to know it _all_."

"Upon your death it was said that the Pillar of Balance turned black as jet and split in half, then the world you see now was built and for many millennia Hylden, humans and vampires have lived as we have. The Hylden are the sovereigns; the rulers and the aristocracy. The humans are the workers and the vampires...we are pets and toys for the sovereigns amusement. Uh...would you like to sit down for a moment?" she asked kindly. "Kain...sir?" she rose slowly from her seat and nervously waved a hand in front of his face. He was staring fixedly at a point on the floor near his feet with empty, glazed eyes and an expression devoid of all emotion - it was as though his 'self' had ceased to be, leaving his body behind as a silent and still testament to his shock and utter disbelief.

"Are you alright, sir?"

For a long moment he did nothing, but then his head turned to her once more with the same familiar, perpetual scowl that had served him so well over the years; it was the expression that his face just seemed to relax into. "I am fine." He said, although wasn't sure if it was Khila or himself that he as trying to reassure.

She looked down forlornly at her muzzle nestled in the scraps that made up the rug on the floor and picked it up, turning it over in her claws. "By removing this, did you mean to save me?"

"I needed to revive and wake you to gain information from you." He admitted.

She looked at the clock on the mantle piece over the fire that was slowly ticking its ever present and oh so depressing rhythm of time as the seconds passed. "I hope then that you have gained all that you need from me."

"Why is that?"

"I will be dead in five minutes." She said simply.

_To be continued......_


	3. C 03 Past

Chapter Three

Kain followed Khila's eyes to the clock and saw that it displayed the time of night as being three fifty five.

"What are you talking about?"

"At four O'clock demon guards will come to collect me from where I was chained...when they see I am not there they will activate a Glyph Strike on me."

"Explain."

She patted the collar about her neck. "This is not merely for decoration; it is a means of control and it can be activated even from a long distance to cause discomfort, pain, paralysis and even death to the wearer. That is what a Glyph Strike is; they can strike you down no matter where you are or where you hide."

"They already know that you are gone. I was, apparently, reported."

She thought about this for a moment. "It does not matter, really. Guards are sent to check on my presence every hour to ensure I do not escape any of my punishments. If I do manage to, however, they do not tell Lord Caucahn and try to retrieve me before four O'clock. If they do not succeed the Glyph Strike is called and then they inform Lord Caucahn of my demise."

Before she realised what was happening Kain grabbed a claw full of her hair and used it to yank her head to the side. She screeched, dropped the muzzle she had still been holding and pulled at his hand whilst he inspected the offending collar. It was made of tough, thick and durable dark leather that, like the muzzle, seemed to have never been designed to be removed. He tried to break it and had his hand zapped with Glyph magic for his trouble. He shook his hand while the tingling, burning sensation went away.

Khila rubbed her head. "You could have asked." She mumbled.

He looked at the clock again...three and a half minutes left.

He growled something indistinct under his breath and drew the Soul Reaver.

Khila began to back away from him. "W-w-what are you d-doing?"

"Come here and stand still." He laid a claw on her shoulder and drew her closer. "I wouldn't want to cut you now would I?"

She did as she was bidden with her eyes firmly closed.

Kain tilted her head to one side and brushed her hair away.

Khila whimpered as she felt the sharp tip of the Reaver against her skin as Kain slid it in between her neck and the collar. "Do. Not. Move." He warned, his voice dripping with concentration.

With a flick of his wrist the blade jerked up and slit the leather cleanly. As it broke each of the Glyphs that were embedded in the tanned animal hide gave of small explosions, although the most that happened because of this was Khila's hair was unnoticeably singed and she hurt her elbow as she felt to the floor in shock.

Kain put the Reaver away again. It was almost an insult to put it to use on such menial tasks. "Problem solved."

Khila looked up at him from the floor. "Why do you keep helping me?"

"It is in my interests to keep you alive as long as possible; you are far more use to me whilst you are capable of speaking and answering my questions."

She shakily stood up again. "And what are these questions?"

"For now my only question is where we may we go where we will be safe from prying eyes and ears. Once such a place is secured I will have further questions for you."

Khila's face creased up in thought. "I'm sorry, there isn't really anywhere...well...maybe there is...I can only think of two places that might be of any use; the old museum and the abandoned slaughterhouse."

"Where are these places and which would be the easiest to defend?"

"Uh...the museum is where we were before, where the Pillars are and the old slaughterhouse is in the eastern part of the city. I think the latter would be best." She suggested.

"Do the Hylden have any way of tracing you?"

"No. Just usual tracking methods."

"In that case we can head for this slaughterhouse in relatively plain sight, then double back and make our way unseen to the Pillars."

"But why? The slaughterhouse will be far safer; it is a more remote area."

"Exactly my point; they will expect us to head for the safest place and would not expect us to return to the place in which we were last discovered."

"Unless they knew how you thought and already thought of that." She pointed out.

Kain had, in fact, thought of this but still wanted to return to what remained of the Pillars if only to be near something that he recognised. He was stranded in a strange new world and wanted to keep familiar things close. "We return to the museum." He said again and made for the broken window across the room. "We will head straight there. No de-tour."

"Have you made up your mind then?"

"Yes, now be quiet and follow me." He hopped neatly out of the window and waited for her to drop down beside him. She did so, but slightly less gracefully. "We will use the rooftops."

"We will? How? Do you expect me to shimmy up a drainpipe in this dress?"

"No, I have a far simpler method." He grabbed her hand and before she could protest he teleported to the nearest roof.

"What just happened!?" she squealed as the rough cobbles gave way to smooth slates in an instant under her foot claws.

"It was magic." He said somewhat tiredly and began to jog. "Now do be quiet and follow my lead."

Taking orders came as second nature to her. "Yes, sir." She ran to catch up with him and then followed in a steady jog that echoed his pace perfectly.

Now that he had an idea where he was going and was not simply wandering aimlessly he predicted that it should take them half an hour at the most to reach the Pillars again. The houses were tightly packed together and thus there were only small gaps in between the roofs that even a human could clear without expending too much effort so the going was quite easy. Kain just hoped fervently that Khila could keep up with him but found to his great surprise that she had quite amazing stamina for a woman who had been oppressed and kept as a slave all her life.

As they made their way a thought occurred to Kain. "Once the guards call this 'Glyph Strike', surely they would not bother to look for you and presume that you are dead."

"Most likely." She had to agree. "I think that we should be safe enough from being tracked and hunted so long as we are not reported by any of the workers." She gave a quiet little grunt as she jumped another gap.

"Good. Let us just hope that no-one looks up."

"Let us just hope that when they called the Glyph Strike they did not realise the collar was broken...if they know what has happened they will continue their search. Lord Caucahn will be very annoyed when he hears that someone has stolen his favourite toy."

"Toy? Is that what vampires are reduced to in this age?" He couldn't believe it...correction; he didn't _want_ to believe it.

"That's right. Toys or pets or slaves. Usually pets. We are kept for amusement, somewhat like court jesters but sometimes...sometimes they prefer us to be toys and sometimes...some-sometimes..." her voice trailed off.

"Sometimes what?" he asked to encourage her to speak.

"Sometimes...sometimes they play with their toys to roughly and sometimes they break them. Caucahn plays too roughly." She added sadly.

"He hurts you? Tonight was not the first time this has happened?"

Khila's voice seemed very small as she replied. "Not everything leaves a mark on the outside."

Kain left it at that. He got the distinct feeling that it wasn't an avenue that needed to be explored in depth. Her tone told him all that he needed to know.

For the remained of the journey Kain could think of nothing to say to spark up ad conversation and neither was he in the mood. Khila observed her own silence for lack of conversation making skills and soon the wooden mass of the old museum came into focus. They headed for it and were shortly inside, unseen and unreported just as had been planned.

The three guards were still lying in bloody heaps around the Pillars dais so Kain decided to tidy them away. He grabbed the nearest one by the foot and set about storing them in the hall that he had first arrived in to get them out of sight.

"Does death follow you?" Khila asked, referring to the fact that wherever she had been awake with him she had seen corpses; first the human family and now the guards, not to mention all the stories she had heard and read.

"No." Kain replied sincerely. "We walk side by side."

"How comforting." Khila wandered almost absentmindedly over to the throne and took a seat. She was rubbing her claws irritably. Kain had noticed that she had a habit of doing that; she would hold her hands to her chest and rub her claws as though there was something on them.

"Do your hands itch?" he asked her.

"Hmm? Oh...no...habit." She laced her claws together in her lap. "I'm sorry if it bothers you."

"How old are you?"

"What...oh, I can't remember. I think I was twenty-something when I was picked to be turned but after that it all just turned into one long night. I just stopped counting the years but I think I might nearly be one hundred. Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious."

"Oh..." she wriggled and then stood up. "That seat is very hard."

"I know." He agreed with a sigh. He knew very well. He had had it built as a statement but had regretted it a week later. Sure, it looked impressive but it was not in the least bit practical. Not only was it solid stone but the back of it was the Balance Pillar itself and thus had a curve to it. It was, admittedly, nearly perfectly straight...but not exactly and it was noticeable after leaning against it for long enough. There had been many a time in the far past where he had had to sit in that cold, hard throne and listen to his lieutenants rambling on and on and on about the pathetic little wars they were having with each other whilst his poor spine started wanting to curve in entirely the wrong direction and his arse slowly began to fall asleep. He had frequently given in to some of his sons' demands and requests simply to get them to go away so he could perform the undignified but necessary act of rubbing some feeling into his backside in private.

But that was a long time ago.

"Khila, are there no resistance groups at all, if not from vampires then from the humans?"

"No one dares to form a resistance; life is tolerable whilst sovereign rule is accepted. If protests are made it is the faithful and the docile who are punished. It just isn't worth the risk or the cost to go against the sovereigns."

"You said a moment ago that you were _chosen _to be reborn, so am I correct in thinking that the Hylden actually want to vampire bloodline to continue?" _even after they have spent so long trying to obliterate it._

"Yes. I think that they keep us because they do not see the total annihilation of out race as a fitting enough punishment for the sins of the past."

"Why did you chase after the old history when it is forbidden? That is what you said, isn't it?" he remembered what she had said when she had briefly woken from her coma the first time they had been here.

"Yes, you are right. I wanted to know because...well, because I wanted to know about you. Caucahn always said that I reminded him of you; he said I look like you when you were younger...and that's why he hurts me more than his other pets. Sometimes he even calls me by your name, I wish he wouldn't." she sounded as though she was trying to hide an anger that was boiling inside.

"Do you hate me?" _You should. It seems I've caused you nothing but misery. You have every right._

"Do you want me to?"

"I would rather that you didn't. It would make speaking with you rather awkward."

"Then I shan't." she said and started rubbing her claws again.

Another awkward silence ensued between the two of them again, although it didn't seem as awkward for Khila as it did Kain.

Kain had a million questions to ask but didn't know how to ask them and neither did he think Khila would be able to answer many of them.

Khila, on the other hand, was quite used to this sort of thing. It was normal for her to answer a question and do as she was told then lapse into bitter silence and await the next demand.

Kain couldn't help but notice her ability to stand as still as a statue and almost fade into the background. If it were not for her habit of constantly rubbing her claws you could have walked straight past her and swear she was not there at all. Like all good slaves she had learned to be mute and invisible until she was called. He tried to imagine what she had suffered at the hands of her 'owner' Caucahn but found that he didn't really care; he was a cruel and heartless bastard ninety percent of the time no matter what his good intentions might be. Sometimes he wondered if, over the years, he had simply grown cold to the emotions of others. It had begun almost as a talent; the gift of being able to turn his own emotions on and off at will but now...now it was as though he had truly become stone inside. No, that wasn't right...things still did get to him, things such as Raziel's sacrifice (it was impossible to ignore that) but most things just washed over him without a second thought.

He found himself continually glancing over to Khila to reassure himself that she was still there, seeing as how she seemed to be able to vanish from his senses. She also seemed to be swaying slightly on her feet.

"Are you feeling unwell?" he asked.

"No, sir." She said.

"Then why can you not stand still?"

"I am just a little tired, sir. It's nothing important." Although she had spent a long time in a coma that did not mean she had spent any time actually asleep. It is quite common for people who have been unconscious to feel tired.

"I don't need you collapsing on me again." he said.

"I will try not to, sir."

He couldn't help but roll his eyes and sigh. She had seemed alright before. For a few moments she had seemed like any other vampire he had known; free, but now her brain had selected him as her new master and authority figure. He was now her new owner; it was as though she just didn't know how to live without commands.

"Khila, can you do nothing for yourself? Stop calling me 'sir', do you hear?"

"Yes, sir...oh, sorry, si- uh..." it seemed he had just confused her. "I am sorry, Kain." She used his name in the same manner that she used the word 'sir'.

"Do you know this building well?" _If you can call it a building_.

"Not really, but I can still remember when it was a museum."

"Good; you're going to rest whether you like it or not so where in here would be convenient?"

Khila led him somewhat cautiously through one of the halls to a door which led to a half decayed wooden staircase that had once been staff only access to the guards room; a space in the ceiling barely high enough to stand straight in. Amazingly the roof was in good order, the floor still intact and the two beds and a few chairs had all survived as well as a few other items that had been crammed into the space.

"I suggest that you sleep as best you can." Kain said but it was less of a suggestion and more of a demand.

"I don't need to, honestly. I am fine." She tried to assure him; she felt she had already spent too long with her eyes closed.

Kain gave her his very best glare.

"Perhaps five minutes." She said, if only to stop the looks she was being given. She crossed the room and did her nest to make herself comfortable on the straw mattress of one of the beds. It was quite cold and the straw inside was sharp and she couldn't help but give a little shiver. Moments later she felt something soft and vaguely warm drop over her. Opening her eyes she examined the length of red cloth with the white symbol and gold clasp...

Looking back across the room she saw Kain leafing through some rat nibbled, dusty documents that had been left behind in an old trunk, his back and shoulders bare.

"This is yours." She said.

"How observant you are." He said without turning.

She waited for a moment to see if there was anything else he had to say but no further conversation was offered, he just continued to brood over the semi disintegrated parchments and books he had discovered.

He may have been looking at the papers but his mind was somewhere else entirely. _What am I going to do with myself? Everything I have been working for will be an utter failure, none of my time manipulations will succeed...wait...time manipulations...of course! How could I have been so blind!? All I have to do is go back, I know how this happened so I can ensure that the events that lead to it do not occur, I can be prepared and stop it before it begins..._

With the half cloak spread over her and clutched in her claws like a security blanket Khila finally fell asleep while Kain contemplated past, present and future.

She slept for at least eight full hours, which was quite an achievement as her time as Lord Caucahn's pet had turned her into somewhat of an insomniac and she was usually grateful for just two to three hours before her body decided to wake her up. For the first time in years she actually felt refreshed. She put it down to the blood she had drunk, she had felt different ever since she had had her teeth in Kain's wrist...speaking of Kain...

He was no longer pawing through the contents of the trunk, now he was lying on the second bed with one leg dangling casually over the edge, one arm over his eyes and his chest rising and falling in the steady rhythm of a man happily asleep and intending to stay that way for as long as possible. The Soul Reaver was on the floor beside him.

Even the Scion of Balance needs a well earned kip every so often.

Khila decided that it would be a bad idea to wake him and instead went to take a look at the papers he had been so interested in. She crept over to them with the half cloak draped around her shoulders like a shawl and picked up the first she came across.

The documents were old records of what had been displayed in the museum, where they had come from and to what new owners they had gone to after the museums closure. Some of the items listed she knew because many of them, many of the most important, were now in Lord Caucahn's private collection in his castle in the centre of the city. Most of what was written on the records were just shortened names or codes for the items; these were not the originals - only rough copies and so did not contain the details but one item stood out from the others and she was sure that this was the one he had been looking so intently at – 'Skeleton Of The Abomination.' She knew that one well.

She had been to the museum only once while it was open, when Caucahn had gone to buy the items he now owned. It was the tapestries and paintings she had seen in this very structure that had sparked her fascination and obsession with the vampire that now lay peacefully sleeping not three meters away.

So, what did all of this mean? The great vampire Kain had returned after thousands of years, he knew nothing of the events from between his re-death and his miraculous reappearance and, it seemed to her, that he was very confused...not exactly how she had imagined he would be. In her dreams he had been far surer of himself, he had answers for everything, and he knew what to do and needed no aid. But reality and dreams were rarely similar.

"Still...I'm glad you came back." She said as she looked over at him, even though she knew he couldn't hear her.

Not much later Kain was rudely awoken by a scream. Eyes snapping open she sat up and scanned the room for threats and exits...but it was empty...and Khila was gone.

The scream came again, a woman's scream; it _had_ to be Khila. He snatched up the Soul Reaver and headed for the source of the sound.

He found Khila in the main Pillars chamber; she still had his half cloak around her shoulders. She was kneeling in the centre of the dais and digging her fingers into her temples and ears as though trying to claw something out of her head. Blood rolled down her hands, face and neck in thick dark streams and she screamed over and over again. "Shut up! Shut UP! SHUT UP!!"

Her eyes were shot with pain as she looked up at him while he hurried forwards. "Help me! Please help me!"

To be continued...... 


	4. C 04 Separation

Chapter Four

"What are you doing?! Stop that at once, you're hurting yourself!" He dropped the Soul Reaver, grabbed her hands to prevent her from tearing at herself anymore and causing greater damage. She struggled against him but it only made him hold on tighter. "What is wrong with you?"

"They won't stop shouting at me, please just tell them to stop!" she collapsed against him, the voices tearing through her mind were becoming too much to bear and the pain was like fire in her mind. "Tell them to leave me alone, I don't want them in my head any more..."

"What do you mean 'any more'? Did you call them?"

"No! Ahgh!" she tensed up all of a sudden and went quiet.

"What happened? Are you hurt?"

She gave out one last whimper and then pushed herself away from him. "I-I'm sorry about that..." she said, one hand rose to her mouth and a dark embarrassed blush beginning to flare on her cheeks.

Kain stood and brushed Pillar dust off of his trousers. "I take by the tone of your voice that is not the first time that such a thing has occurred, and that it was merely the pain and not fear that made you call out to me. More comfort than aid."

She closed her eyes and stayed on the floor, rubbing her claws.

"Answer me, girl."

"You're right; this isn't the first time...but it's just something that happens. And...I did want you to...help...I though you might be able to stop them for good...stop them coming back."

"Who are 'they'?"

"I don't know, they are different every time...they aren't just voices that I can hear, it's as though they are trying to invade my head, trying to force their way into me and they're always screaming."

"Can you understand what it is they are saying?"

"Not really, I think they just want help...and can't find it." she sighed and stood up. "Oh, here; you should take this back." She pulled the half cloak off her shoulders and offered it to him.

He took it back from her, fastened it around him again and then replaced the Reaver which until that point had been forgotten on the floor.

"Yesterday you said that wanted further information from me." Khila reminded him.

"Hnh? Oh, yes, I did."

"Well, I cannot help unless you ask me some questions."

"True. In that case...do you know Nosgoth well?"

"I know only what I have been told and some very old maps I have seen, sir."

"What did I tell you about calling me that?"

"I'm sorry."

_Old maps are better than none at all._ "Is the time streaming device still in working order? It is a little while from here, deep underground; it should be accessible through a mountain complex."

"Through the Oracles Caves." Khila said almost dreamily.

"How did _you_ know that?" there were few people who knew the caves by such a name and _none_ should in this time.

"I told you; I spent a long while studying the legends. You told your sons of your journeys as a fledgling, they told their children and eventually the stories were recorded. Lord Caucahn has a copy in his library, although he only ever read it once."

"I'm sure such facts are fascinating but please return to the point of this conversation; is Moebius' chronoplast chamber still active?"

"I don't know. Most of the mountain has been demolished but I know there is still a tunnel that can lead to the chamber..."

"I can hear a 'but' about to arrive in that sentence."

"...but...it has been many years since anyone had actually been down their and it could have been devastated by the earthquakes. Once the sovereigns established their rule they saw little point in trying to fidget with the past in case it ruined their perfect new present...they never demolished the chamber itself just in case they should ever need it again but it has been many years since they have bothered with its upkeep."

"Do you know how to reach the chamber?"

"I know _of_ it and about it but I have never been down to it personally. I could get you there...why? What do you plan on doing?"

"I plan on reaching the chamber and returning from whence I came. Now that I know what is to happen to Nosgoth I can be prepared and can prevent it." _Such high hopes. But hope is all that's left._

"You're going to leave?" she did not sound too happy about the idea.

"Yes. I have no business in this time. I cannot change what has happened by remaining here, so I must and _will_ go back."

"Then why did you come here at all?" Now she sounded ready to cry.

"I had no choice in the matter. My arrival here was nothing of _my_ doing. I was forced from a past time line and into this once. I am not the resurrection of the Kain you know. He is who I am to _become_ unless I change things, not who I am now."

She stood up and brushed her hair behind her ears. "Is it dark outside?"

"Yes. It was first light when you fell asleep and it has been a good while since...it's also winter so the day is much shorter...it's dark, just about."

"Good." She headed for the doors that lead to the street. "I'll show you the way."

Kain followed.

They took to the rooftops once again and Khila returned to her silence; however this time it was different...it was not her usual empty quietness that Kain had almost grown accustomed to, this time it seemed to be a dejected inability to bring herself to speak. Her movements were slow and lazy, as though she just didn't have the energy even though she was fully rested.

She brought him, eventually, to what was left of the 'Oracles' caves'. What had once been mountain had been reduced to a hill. This was partially caused by earthquake that still wracked the land but mostly because of the Hylden: they had wanted the stone and had thought the mountains were an eyesore, plus the fact that they were in the way of city expansion.

A set of heavy metal double doors blocked the path Kain needed to use. Khila laboriously pushed them open and then stood back. "They tend not to lock doors because they know that no pet or worker would ever be so foolish as to do _anything_ without being told to. As far as I know it is a single path that leads to a lift shaft that will take you down to the corridor just before the chamber itself. I hope you find what you are looking for." She began to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Kain enquired.

"Do you have further questions?"

"No. I now have all the information I should require."

"Then just as you I have little reason to remain in this world any longer." She kept on walking as she spoke and didn't once look back...nor forwards; she kept eyes fixed firmly on the ground.

He watched her until she was out of sight. _Where is she going to go? _He wondered to no one but himself _Hnh, it is no matter of mine. _He discarded such thoughts, she was none of his concern and he had no further use for her thus she could go ahead and do what ever she bloody well liked. He was going to go back and forget this place...hopefully he could he could ensure that this did not happen in _his_ timeline.

He turned his back on the city and headed into the tunnel.

The tunnel had to have been one of the most depressingly boring places that he had ever had the misfortune to travel through. He would have thought that the Hylden might have done _something_ to it, they had spent enough time and care on all of their other ventures...it seemed like they had no intention of using this place ever again except in emergency situations. Also, there was not a single guard to be seen and thus no-one to pick a fight with. He was so used to turning corners and running into Sarafan patrols and huge great demons that it was rather disappointing when he found clear areas such as this...empty spaces tended to signify either another bloody puzzle to solve or a very hard singular enemy to kill, neither of which he was particularly fond, but they did add a little spice to his voyaging.

He let his claws drag along one smooth stone wall and the scraping sound echoed around him, growing louder rather than fading and then simply disappearing into silence at its peak. Just as Khila had told him the tunnel opened out into a room into one wall of which the elevator had been built. Judging by the healthy green glow of the symbols flickering above the switch within it the lift was still operational but untouched for a very long period of time. A thick layer of dust covered every open surface and strewn here and there were the odd few rocks and boulders dislodged by the earthquakes.

He kicked a few aside and stepped into the lift after scoping the room out for any lurking dangers. With that complete to his satisfaction he threw the switch and let the lift do the work for him. The doors slid closed with a resounding and ominous thud and then the travelling room shuddered into life as it began its descent.

It did not take very long at all to reach the bottom of the shaft, he was glad now that it had been built otherwise it could have taken him an infuriating amount of time. He didn't dare teleport when he did not know what to expect of the area he needed to get to.

When the lift doors opened again he found himself facing a short length of very familiar corridor which ended in a double door emblazoned with an elaborate and portentous face.

He was not going to hang around any longer, it was time to get back to where he aught to be, no more delays.

The doors slammed back against the wall as he threw them viciously open and stepped into the Chronoplast chamber.

At first glance it was obvious that all was not well, what he saw before and around him made him want turn and hit his head repeatedly against the nearest wall in frustration and despair.

_For once could something PLEASE go right!_

Although the gate itself was intact the switches that operated it were not and neither was the orrery-like contraption that had once been on the ceiling. The earthquakes had broken them all and caused them to come crashing to the floor, shattering stonework in the process. There was no point in even contemplating fixing it, he possessed neither the skills nor the means to tackle such a colossal task.

_This is not happening to me...what have I done to deserve this...this can't be happening to me..._

But it was, it was very definitely happening to him whether he wanted it to or not. He sat himself down on the edge of the tier he was on and let out a deep and meaningful sigh, hoping to calm himself before he punched a hole through the wall through the sheer stress of the whole situation. Now, what was he going to do? He was at a complete loss. He just wanted to get back and fix history like he had sworn he would do but now he was trapped, stranded, in this place with seemingly no hope of escape. The Chronoplast chamber had been the _only_ time streaming device active in his empire thus it was the only one in this new Nosgoth...his only link to the era he sought; shattered with no hope of repair.

So what was left? Sit here and rot? That seemed to be the only plausible option he had left now that he was stuck it this Nosgoth that had been so cruelly stolen for his self-to-be...him, his Nosgoth.

_My Nosgoth._

Yes, _his_ Nosgoth...if this was to be his world now then he would take it back, he would regain rule, claim the land as his own once more as it should be and release the vampires kept in tortured oppression.

If he could not redeem the past then he would have to heal the future.

But how? It was impossible. No matter how many different ways he thought of the situation he could find no sensible answer or solution. Before, he had always had aims and goals; he knew what he had to do. Before, he had had an army behind him to conquer Nosgoth or only needed to change a few historical events to reset the time line but now he had nothing...he had no army and no time streaming devices, he would be one man alone against the entire Hylden population.

He didn't know how long he sat down there with his eyes part closed; he lost all concept of time as his thoughts slowly wounds themselves like vines around the problem he faced. The only way he could figure this working the way he wanted it to was by thinking of the Hylden rule a bit like a house of cards. If he removed just a few select cards in the bottom row, the foundations, those with the most influence and power, the keystones of society, then the rest may come tumbling down...and who would be there to pick up the pieces? _He_ would. He could salvage the people of the city from the wreckage of his own design.

At least he hoped it would work out that way...

He stood and then made his way back to the lift.

So, all he had to do was find out who those keystone Hylden were and take them out. Unfortunately this revealed yet another set back and problem to him for he did not know who they were and he had hardly seen a single member of their sickening species since he had first arrived in this damned time. He could easily believe that they no longer existed if it were not for the mentions of them from Jor, Khila and those three Hylden he had fought and killed.

It looked as though he was going to need information yet again. It made him feel quite stupid, having to rely on someone else to tell him everything. He used to have most of the answers himself or at least could make some damn good educated guesses but now he was completely out of info. Right, next task was to find Khila. So where had his walking library gotten to?

Oh...but what was it that she had said before departing?

_Just like you I have little reason to remain in this world._

Realisation hit him like a tidal wave that left his mind reeling. He hadn't realised what she had meant by those words until now.

_She's going to kill herself._

No! She couldn't do that to him! He still needed her, she was the only person who he could get answers from and not risk and army of Hylden chasing him to hell and back. Where in this world would she go, what would she do?

Now that he had freed her he doubted that she would return to the Hylden even if she was going to commit suicide, so the most logical place he could think she would go was back to the Pillars seeing it was the place she had spent most of her 'free' time.

But this was a very big city and she knew it far better than he. In truth he did not know it at all; she had been his guide and he wasn't sure if he could remember the exact way back. It could take a lot of backtracking. No, wait a second; it wouldn't take any time at all.

It took but a few minutes for the lift to raise him back to ground level and after that just a few moments more to reach the outside.

Now he just had to hope that what was left of the mountain was high enough to provide him with a useable vista.

The mountain/hill was not the easiest of things to climb; the process of demolition had turned most of the top layer of stone into loose slate like fragments that slid and slipped under his weight and skidded away from his claws, clattering down the steep sides and shattering as they hit the ground along with the minor landslide they would drag with them on the way.

When he finally reached what might jokingly be called the summit he was granted with what could only be described as a descent panoramic view of a great deal of the city.

It was awful. It stretched far beyond his field of vision and it hurt him deep inside to see how much of Nosgoth had been buried under this huge Hylden made monstrosity. He tried to find _anything_ that he could recognise but found that there was nothing that even resembled what he knew. And there was something missing in this scene...something he felt should be here even with the passage of so much time. He couldn't think of what and it was rather annoying.

He scanned what he could see and finally saw the sprawling wooden mess that was the 'old museum'.

He focused on it and felt he changes commence.

A pattern began to form across his skin like frost on a window, but unlike frost these were thin black markings that seemed to dig into and come from within his body. The pattern then began to peel away, taking his skin with it and eventually his entire self. His form disintegrated in a dense cloud of bats that swarmed towards his desired destination like the dark heart of midnight itself.

It was always rather disorientating having your body in numerous different, _separate_, pieces but he had long since grown accustomed to it.

The city rolled past as the bats flight took them directly to the museum, they made a pass then circled round to flap their way to the main doors and come together once again; each clawing hold of the next until the swarm became a recognisable shape that faded into life.

Once Kain had reassembled himself fully he stepped into the main chamber.

Of Khila there was no sign, the museum was as empty as it had ever been. He was about to dive into a lengthy cursing session to relieve some more stress when he realised that he had been somewhat careless in his searching of this place; he could hear voices coming from one of the connecting halls.

At first it sounded like two voices speaking quite casually to one another even though he could not make out the exact words the tone was pretty clear. However these amiable speakers did not retain their friendly tone for very long, the voices raised in anger and this was followed by yelps and strained pleas made by a third voice that he recognised as Khila's.

He dashed forwards to the open entrance of the hall, the same hall that contained the corpses of the Hylden guards, and sure enough Khila as within; cowering on the floor between two live Hylden of the warrior kind Kain had seen in the maze surrounding the 'Mass' so many centuries ago.

The two Hyldens bladed arms rose and fell with terrible accuracy, raining down an unstoppable barrage of blows upon the vampire girl who could do nothing but curl herself into a protective ball and raise her own arms defensively over her head. From her mouth escaped a high pitched, shaky, continual moan; the kind of quiet but heart piercing sound that was usually produced by terrified children when they cried.

Kain didn't wait even five more seconds; telekinetic blasts saw to it that the Hylden were no longer interested in beating Khila.

As they picked themselves up off the floor and recovered what was left of their dignity after tumbling head over arse into the far wall and took a good long stare that their bold assailant. For a moment nothing more than pure, utter disbelief was firmly fixed behind their eyes as they shared a confused glance as though hoping the other would have an explanation. One of them shook his head and the other continued to study Kain critically, as though sizing him up.

Kain himself began to stroll purposefully into the room as though he owned it (which, as far as he was concerned, he did) with the Soul Reaver drawn and held loosely in his right hand.

"You, you're dead." One of the Hylden said, gaining the prize for most idiotic statement of the year.

Kain was not really in the mood to come up with a retort and so said nothing at all. And there wasn't really much point seeing as they were going to die any minute now at any rate, speaking to tem would just be a waste of time and effort.

The Hylden too were not really concerned with small talk or boasting. They were far more interested in a) finding out how Kain had returned from the grave (again), and b) how they were going to send him back there (again).

They both started forwards at the same time, their faces were masks of determination and in an instant they discarded Khila from their mental list of priorities; Kain had shot straight up to number one.

Kain decide to wait for them to come to him. Why bother to needlessly expend energy.

Noticing that he was making no move to neither attack nor defend they became somewhat cautious and dropped into a steadier pace as though their steps echoed a silent heart beat as they continued to advance.

"Such faith in your skills, I see." Kain mocked.

He didn't, thankfully, have to wait too long for the first to decide he was ready to attack, but it was a nervous strike as though he wasn't sure how he should be dealing with the situation and was just testing things out to see what might happen. The hesitant blow was simple enough for Kain to bat aside without really having to try. After deflecting the minor threat he swung the Soul Reaver in a swift, high, horizontal arc that left a brief silver streak in the air towards the unfortunate Hylden's unprotected head and a thin, wet, red one after it cut cleanly through the top half of his skull.

The Hylden blinked, looked at the white haired vampire with a gaze of vague bewilderment and then fell smartly over backwards as his eyes glazed over in death. There was little a body could do without two thirds of the brain and said parts of Hylden brain were now rolling serenely away from the body across the floor in the cup of their supposedly protective skull and were leaving a red trail behind them as they went on their merry way.

Kain chuckled quietly and turned his eyes slowly and steadily to the second of the Hylden.

The Hylden ignored his fallen companion and faced his foe...that was no longer there. He had just enough time for the thought 'where did he go' to form in his mind before he was struck solidly from behind. The Reaver cut him from right shoulder to left hip and the two halves of his body fell limply away from the blade between them.

Kain was almost disappointed by how easy it was to dispatch them; he remembered them taking somewhat longer to get rid of.

Now that the distractions were well and truly taken care of he could return to the task at hand.

Khila had tucked herself into one corner of the room, with her legs drawn up tight against her and her hands scraping furiously against each other...her hair was matted with new blood that showed vivid against the white and her dress was now stained, torn and split in dozens of places under which her skin was healing. Her eyes were locked on the corpses, but the emotion behind them was hard to decipher; it seemed to be a synthesis of fear, pain and rage. "They always find me." She said almost silently, she was not whispering but her words were barely audible. "Always. It never matters where I try to go or what I try to do, they always find me...even when I'm supposed to be dead. He wants me back; he's not going to let me go."

Kain stood before her but she seemed to be looking straight through him. "Are you injured?" he inquired.

"They'll keep coming." She continued.

"I do not take kindly to being ignored, Khila."

"Is there not somewhere you need to be right now?" she said, although still was not actually looking at him.

"There has been a...uh...change of plans."

"Oh really? So now where are you going?"

"I'm not exactly sure; I was rather hoping that you might be able to point me in the right direction."

She waved one hand vaguely in a dismissive gesture. "There are lost of directions, north, south, east, west, just pick one."

"I shall warn you now that I am not in the best of moods, so do try not to make it worse."

"Why didn't you go? I thought you didn't have any business in this time."

"I have my reasons."

"Hmh." She grunted to no one in particular. "So what was the general direction you were hoping to be pointed in?"

"Who is in control, Khila? Who holds the highest position in Nosgoth?"

"There is no single ruler of Nosgoth, there is a council formed of the heads of each city."

"Who is the head of _this_ city?"

"Lord Caucahn."

"Caucahn? That name...isn't he your 'owner'?"

"Yes." She said as she finally looked up. "I suppose that you will be asking me to take you to him next...that seems to be the way you do things. Are you going to kill him?"

"I am, but I will need you to tell me how to get to him; you will know him better than most because of your previous closeness to him. I will need to know where to find him, what defences I will be up against in the place, his weaknesses and strengths-"

"Alright, alright." She interrupted. "I understand, there is no need to make a list."

She slowly stood up and began to walk towards the Pillars, avoiding the blood on the floor.

Kain followed a good few steps behind while she talked.

"He's usually at his castle fort at the centre of the city and I could tell you everything about that place but that will not help you in the slightest. He isn't there at the moment. He is seeing to some business with his advisor Lady Lorfae, so that means he'll be at her Manor House, I am not privy to a great deal of information about her. In regards to defence all I can say is that Caucahn will have his usual four guards...and the Soul Reaver." If he hadn't been behind her she would have seen an almost sickened and disgusted expression wash over his face. "If you want to know about the workings of Lady Lorfae's manor you'll need to gain an audience with one of the workers or her pet."

"Jor." Kain said a he remembered the scrawny, frightened vampire male.

"How do you know him?" she seemed surprised.

"We met, briefly, twice. Once was when I found you; he told me to leave you alone and run."

"That sounds like Jor." She said, stopping at the edge of the Pillars dais. "I've never really spoken to him but he seems very obedient to Lorfae...yet harbours some hope that one night in his lifetime vampires might be free. He does so hate to see the dead Vetus when they are displayed."

"Would you know where to find Jor?"

"I have an idea. He spends most of his time at the stables, I don't know why. It seems Lady Lorfae prefers him to stay with the other animals. Her dogs sleep out there too...the cat tends to stay inside though; she just can't keep it out, it always finds a way back in." she added conversationally.

"You had better show me the way, there are things I must do."

"Can you not stay in one place just for a moment? Why must you always be doing things?" she wailed bitterly.

To put her at ease with the situation he gave her an answer that he thought she would appreciate "If we stay in one place all of the time we will be easy targets; the more we move the harder it will be for them to pinpoint us." Once again the infamous 'them' came into play; it covered all the bases.

"Alright." She said quietly. "It's about an hours walk from here."

"Then begin."

_To be continued......_


	5. C 05 Plans

Chapter Five

Upon arriving at the Manor House of the Hylden Lady Lorfae, Kain was presented with the impressive sight of a rich building that he imagined Vorador would have been proud to own. In many ways the classic gothic architecture reminded him very much of the pompous, green vampire's Mansion deep in the Termogent Forest. It seemed singularly out of place, surrounded by the swathes of more 'traditional' Hylden structures.

Khila led him carefully and silently through the shadows as best she could, out of sight and sound, to the very back of the manor and to the large wrought iron gates and high stone walls that separated the empty alley they stood in from the stable yard. The gates, like so many other supposed barriers within the city, were not locked due to Hylden 'dominance' and their everlasting faith in the fact no-one would _dare_ do anything to them.

Khila pushed one gate open enough for the two of them to slip through and then closed it again behind them, being careful not to allow the black metal to give away any tell tale creaks.

The stable yard was nothing to comment on, it was like all other stable yards throughout history and worlds, with a light sprinkling of stray straw and hay along with the odd piles of manure on the cobbled floor. To one side, against the wall, the expansive stables themselves stood and within it the shapes of roughly three stocky equines could be defined, one of which was being studiously groomed.

The stable yard seemed clear enough. No one was peering out through any windows at the back of the manor and no guard or stable hand looked ready to make a sudden interrupting appearance except, perhaps, for the one in the stable proper. The two vampires took a short careful jog over to the stone and wood structure and made a covert inspection of the place. It turned out that what they had presumed to be a stable hand was actually the vampire they sought. Jor was brushing the short fur of one horse with almost calculated efficiency and was talking to it at the same time in the same manner you might speak to a favoured aunt that you had not seen in a long time. He was, at great length, informing the uncaring beast of the gossip from within the manor. His grubby shirt's sleeves were rolled up above his elbows and his trousers were not the same, neat, cleans ones that Kain had seen him wearing before. He had changed into typical hard labourer's leathers and rough wool rather than a pet's tidy uniform.

Jor made an elaborate sigh and ditched the brush, instead snatching up a hoof scraper. He then proceeded to turn his back to the horses head, hook one of its front legs between his own and dig out the muck that had accumulated within the shoe.

Khila leaned with her arms crossed against the closed lower half of the stable door. Kain stood straight a step to the side in his usual stance of superior indifference.

"Hello." Khila greeted the cage-masked pet vampire within the warm dry stable.

Jor's head snapped up, although his body still remained in the same ridiculous semi squat with the hoof in one hand. "You?!"

"Yes, or at least I was the last time I looked."

"Where…where is your muzzle and collar…and where have you been…with him?! Oh you shall receive such a beating for this!"

"Enough whinging, Jor." Kain decided to take control of the conversation. "I require the use of your brains, now tell me what defences this place has in regards to Caucahn and his stay here."

Jor dropped the hoof, straightened up and wiped his claws on his trousers in an almost business-like way. "I'll not aid in his demise." He told Kain.

"Please, Jor." Khila said sweetly, her voice put Kain in mind of the way a young child speak to their parents when there is something they want, almost pronouncing the word as Pwease.

"I'm sorry, Pet, but no. I don't know exactly what you are plotting but I'll not be a part of it. I'll not have her Ladyship any angrier with me than she already is." His voice was starting to shake again.

"Jor, you know you want to help us."

"Be that as it may I simply cannot. Killing his Lordship will not change anything…except maybe the location of my innards if I help you."

"Speaking of your innards, Jor," Kain said, "unless you stop making excuses and tell me something useful you will spend the rest of the night looking for you kidneys. Do I make myself clear?"

Jor visibly flinched. "Perfectly…but-"

"I do not like that word."

"…however…" Jor was determined to continue no matter what threats were thrown his way. "I still cannot help. Either way I'll end up hurt or dead. If I defy their Lord and Ladyships I will be executed and if I defy you you'll kill me anyway. I'm staying impartial. I shall pretend this never happened." With a shaking hand he picked up the grooming brush again and went back to the brown gelding.

"Do not presume to ignore me, Jor. You will find that doing as _I_ command will hold far greater benefits for you."

"I will not pretend that I do not fear you, sir, for I do and I shan't hide it." he said quietly as the brush slid over the horses bulk. "But in truth I do not believe that you can complete the task that you have set yourself."

"You doubt my ability? Do you have the slightest idea who I am?"

"Yes, I do know now, I have heard some tales from her Ladyship after she interrogated me over what I saw…it is just that…I just don't think it will work."

Kain grabbed the stable door as if to throw it open when Khila took a firm grip on his shoulder. "Don't hurt him, please don't hurt him!" she begged.

He shrugged her off but stayed his hand.

"Kain," she continued, "do you honestly need to know all of this? There will be few guards because Lord Caucahn fears no one…and any defences this house would surely be no challenge for you, hmm?"

He had, in fact, already contemplated such a course of action. It was more his style to simply wade in and get the job done, but these were strange and new times and he did so loathe surprises…and if they had managed to kill him before…

Jor didn't look up but did speak. "Whatever you do, make sure you do it fast for he returns to his castle tomorrow."

"What?!" Khila exclaimed. "But he is not due to return for another week."

"He has heard the workers new tales, hasn't he now…of the creature that has returned from the grave and stolen his Lordships pet. Did I already tell you that? I think he is organising things and I heard him talking about getting more guards up at the castle, what a sight that would be!" Jor wasn't actually talking to Kain _or_ Khila; he was talking to the horse. Well, he couldn't be blamed if someone overheard him chatting to himself like he always did, surely? "Ah, and isn't it true that her Ladyship is already installing new Glyph barriers? Oh yes it is, I have seen them, don't you know, such confusing contraptions upon the walls…and so many…tsk tsk, more spaces for dust to form, what will the maids do?"

Khila smiled and listened to him babble on.

"As for the castle…his Lordship does so hate the barriers. Guards he can stand but he cannot abide by the humming of the generators. Not very safe if you ask me. Silly mistake…if some one of skill and strength were to break in undetected they could devastate the guards, don't you think?" he patted the geldings flank. "Silly, silly mistake, but who am I to talk of such things? Oh, you don't care do you, Gideon, so long as I feed you."

"Do you have your answers now?" Khila asked Kain quietly.

"To a degree. At least now I will have a better idea of what to face; especially since I can now rely on you again and not the fancies of a deluded stable boy."

"I resent that." Jor said. "Do not bite me, Gideon." He was still following the role of the absent minded fool.

"I think I know a way to get you into the castle." Khila told Kain while picking at a splinter on the door. "It is a way that I am sure Lord Caucahn will overlook because it was sealed up about half a century ago on his order. It is an extensive sewer pipe line that runs up to a pool in one of the castles dungeons but it was dried up and sealed because young Aluka Vetus kept coming through it after they had widened it enough to pass. If you could break the masonry that seals it I'm sure the pipe way would give you the access you desire. It would get you into the centre of the castle where no one ever ventures…albeit in a dungeon but I doubt the door would prove much of a challenge."

"Where is the entrance to this sewer…and is it one straight path?"

"The sewer is many pipe lines and they were all dried and sealed, it is like a maze of rounded tunnels down there from what I know of it…and the entrance…is….is in the Wild Lands."

"The Wild Lands…is that not where the 'Wild' vampires reside?"

"Yes, beasts that they are. Hmm, I can see you like the sound of that."

"The Wild vampires may mean something to me. I should like to see them if at all possible."

"No you don't. They are animals to the core. They never speak…all they do is feed…even on there own kind if left hungry long enough. Or maybe they were just driven insane, I don't know. Might be both, could be neither but whatever they are in mind they scare me."

"You say that the pipe was sealed with masonry, do you mean brick?"

"Yes."

"That shouldn't be difficult to remove, especially if it is as old as you claim it to be."

"So what is your exact plan, Kain? You have not told me." Khila turned and leaned her back against the door so she could face him. "I know that you desire to kill Lord Caucahn but for what purpose? Why do you so badly need him dead? Not that I am complaining, I hope you understand."

"My plan is as it has always been; to see Nosgoth safely back under vampire rule."

"A noble cause, to be sure, but I doubt that you see the full scale of Hylden control here."

"And what do you mean by that remark?"

"I told you; people are too afraid to go against them and even if you did take power they would quite probably rebel against you. What people fear most, above all other things, is _change_."

"Let them rebel if they are foolish enough to do so, for I do this for Nosgoth; the land must be healed before the people can learn trust. While Nosgoth rots so do the hearts of the people."

"It isn't as though the land is alive in the first place." Jor mumbled, still grooming.

"Even a world must have soul, have you never heard the term _Mother _Nature?" Khila retorted.

Jor dropped the brush he had been using. "Oh, you and your little fancies; land is land, nothing more, it does not live and breathe…it is dirt and rock, it doesn't grow, doesn't feel."

"How do you know?"

"I'm sure that dear beloved Nosgoth would say something if we happened to be insulting 'her'." He said with as much sarcasm as he could muster.

"Nosgoth does speak; you just that you never listen."

Jor laughed with one hand held politely over his mouth even though it was already covered by his muzzle. "Oh, Pet, you really are something. Are you still hearing those imaginary voices?"

"They are not imaginary!"

"Is the Deep still chatting to you? Still telling you people need killing, is he?"

"The 'Deep'?" Kain asked, looking from Khila to Jor in the hope that at least one of them would find the time between arguing to tell him what they were on about.

Khila was the one who finally supplied some sense. "The Deep…it's a name that I gave to one of the voices that I hear. His is the most consistent and is the only one that I can understand. He tells me to kill people, tells me that I must…and his circle, he never stops speaking of his bloody circle."

"Circle? Are you _trying_ to confuse me?"

"No, but the Deep confuses me…he's always here." she tapped her left temple with one claw. "He never goes away."

"No doubt he's talking right now." Jor scoffed.

"Actually he _isn't_." she crossed her arms in an elaborate gesture of annoyance. "Although…he did pipe up a little while before we came here."

"And what did he want this time? Does he still want you to find the Hollow?"

"No, not exactly, he told me to kill Kain and _then_ find the Hollow."

"The Hollow? What is this, a fantasy novel?" Kain was beginning to sound rather infuriated, and his voice perfectly matched his general mood at that moment. As he had mentioned before; he did not take kindly to being ignored and if someone didn't start making some sense in his direction he was going to be very violent all over the place. It was an odd experience for him. This was the first time in his life that he wasn't at the centre of everything…he wasn't an attention seeker but he had grown so used to being the most important individual in history that the quietness of the future was rather disappointing.

"If I knew what the Hollow was I would let you know." Khila said sweetly. "I would love to know as well."

"You're mad, you need to be taken away in chains and locked up for you own safety." Jor wasn't giving up so easily.

Khila leaned back over the half door so she was looking at him upside down. "Jor darling, it's so nice to know you care."

They continued to argue over the state of Khila's sanity.

Kain looked up at the sky. It was still dark; thick clouds that looked ready to throw down spears of rain once more obscured the moon but every so often a clear patch would appear between them and he would see diamond stars studding the inky blueness. Fragments of familiar constellations would roll past gaps every now and again…he was sill in Nosgoth yet he was nowhere near home. This wasn't his world, even if he took it…he could try…but it just didn't feel right.

"Were any maps ever made of the pipe line?" he asked almost distantly.

Jor caught the stray enquiry in the middle of his ranting and though it better to answer it than end up yelling at Khila for an hour. "Yes."

Kain was still looking upwards as he spoke on. "Do you know where to find one?"

"Well, actually, yes. Her Ladyship is chief records holder. All original maps are kept by her even if they are unusable from being too old."

"Bring me one."

"I can't do something like that; I told you."

"Yes you can, and you will, and if you don't I will posses you and use your body to run the errand anyway."

Jor's face paled (although how this happened when he is dead and pale anyway I don't know). "You wouldn't do that…"

"Consider your options, Jor." He gestured slightly with one hand though his eyes did not leave the sky. "If I take control of your body I will run blithely around the manor and will tear it apart looking for the map because I will have absolutely no idea where I am going, and of course it will be _you_ who will suffer the blame and the punishment. Alternatively you could willingly go yourself and stand a chance of remaining undiscovered and safe while doing me a great service."

Jor looked to Khila as though for some support from a fellow pet but all she did was set herself the right way round, smile like a china doll and shrug; indicating that he was very much on his own.

He stuffed his hands into the greatly stretched back pockets of his trousers. "It seems that I have next to no choice then, doesn't it?" he gulped and then added as an after though. "I don't feel very well."

"Do try not to make excuses, Jor, they shan't work."

Jor shook his head and walked off on his way…he had the posture of a man being sent to the gallows. "I'm going to die." He protested in vain.

Before he was out of ear shot he turned back to them. "I have no idea how long this will take, so I suggest that you stay out of sight as best you can." He shook his head again and cautiously found his way inside.

Now that they had been left to their own devices Kain and Khila resorted to conversation yet again to pass the time but they were rapidly running out of things to talk about.

"He may not even come back. He could be caught and killed, or worse." Khila pointed out.

Kain didn't need to question _that _statement. There were many fates worse than the grave. "If he fails I shall just have to go in myself." He was vaguely aware that his blood hunger was rising. Although he had made plenty of kills he had actually fed little…in fact, not at all. "I think that I may have to go inside regardless of whether Jor succeeds or not."

"I wouldn't advise it, if he is right about the new barriers being put in I doubt that you would be able to get far." At this point a light flicked on in one of the windows of the manor. Within the soft glow of Glyph powered light a Hylden silhouette could be clearly seen.

Kain pushed the half door aside and nudged Khila to follow him in.

They slipped silently into the stables that were bathed in the thick scents of sweet hay and musky horses and hoped that they had not been seen. "It appears that we will be in here until he returns." Kain perched himself on a hay bale, one end of which was now being thoroughly munched on by Gideon. "I find Jor to be most puzzling."

"How exactly?"

"Although he willingly condemns himself to a life of unquestioned servitude he seems perfectly capable of keenly ignoring his commands. It is as though he himself does not know whose side he is on."

"He is on the side that suits him at the time. He honestly hasn't the slightest clue as to what he wants for himself; they did something to his head, I'm sure of it. If he runs into Lady Lorfae whilst looking for the map he will more than likely forget all about us. Did you notice the way he dismissed the loss of my muzzle and my being with you after he first questioned it?"

"Yes, I did."

"He does that a lot. I never see him that often but because Lady Lorfae and Lord Caucahn are always meeting we are frequently in each other's presence. I think most pets are like him; permanently confused."

"But not you. You have taken to the role of a free woman rather well. You just need to stop calling the Hylden Lords and Ladies." _Although there was that little suicide scare…which you have forgotten all about._

"I suppose that even though I was always obedient I wanted out of it. I only really performed as bidden to avoid punishment. You know…I don't think that I came out quite right." She twisted a lock of her hair between her claws. "I am not as the others are and I don't just mean by looks. Every pet has the same submissive persona except for me."

"How were you made? Who is your sire?"

"I don't remember. I remember being picked out of my human family, chosen to be Caucahn's pet. I remember going to this place somewhere and then they put something over my mouth…it must have made me fall asleep…after that I was me as I am now. I don't remember how it happened. I just remember being scared. I think it hurt, but I can't be sure. The harder I try to remember the fainter the memories I do have of it seem to get. What about you, do you remember?"

"Yes, but please don't ask about it."

"Sorry." She started petting one of the other horses.

Nothing much was said between them after that point. There was little either wanted to say, and even though Kain would have rather liked to question over her not wanting to commit suicide anymore he felt it would be a bad subject to bring up when he still needed her around and preferably alive. All that really happened between then and Jor's return was that Gideon worked his way up the hay bale and started to chew on Kain's half cloak, for which he received an exceedingly sore nose after having his cloth meal viciously snatched from between his teeth.

"Well, at least he didn't try to eat your hair." Khila said in an attempt to move the scowl from his face.

"I thought it was a horse, not a _goat_." He replied, inspecting the now damp and nibbled corner of the red material.

While Kain grumbled and tried to wring out the horse spit Jor stumbled through the stable doors and then dropped heavily to his knees, causing whisps of hay to flutter up into the air around him. "Do not ask anything else of me, I cannot survive anything more." he begged and then slid one hand under his shirt; pulling a yellowed scroll out from where he had wedged it in the waistband of his trousers.

"I trust you managed to acquire the correct map." Kain said, standing.

Jor held up the scroll. "Here, take it. I hope it is worth the trouble it caused me."

"What kind of trouble." But even as he asked he saw through a slash in Jor's shirt, the fresh, long, deep gash in his back; a cut so deep it showed his bare spine. Jor was a slow healer and the sides of the wound were only just beginning to knit together again.

"Just get out of here and leave me in peace." For the first time in perhaps his whole life, Jor was genuinely angry and it showed.

Kain took Khila's arm and rather roughly led her away before she could attempt to aid the injured pet.

"But he's bleeding." She protested and struggled as she was dragged across the stable yard and through the gates.

"What could you do? He will heal himself in good time. He will be fine." As they turned a shadowed corner and headed back to the Pillars yet again, Jor did his best to ignore the pain while tending to Gideon and the Hylden silhouette turned away from the window.

So, the plan was now well and truly in motion. First Kain would need some time to familiarise himself with the layout of the pipeline then he would have Khila take him to the entrance. Once inside the castle and behind the defences he would find and kill Caucahn and thus begin the creation of the chaos from which he would salvage new vampire order.

_To be continued……_

_Authors Note – My thanks, thus far, go out to; Smoke, Varyssa, Lunatic Pandora 1, Megara2, Rebecca, Robin, Aleks, Magpie and Sophie-chan. Thank you all sooooo much! Happy _

_There are 13 chapters in total (in case you were wondering) but there is a possible 14th depending on how confusing you find 13._

_Again, all comments, criticisms and suggestion are welcomed. Please continue to review as a happy author writes faster. Bye for now! Enjoy! I'll try to get Chapter Six done in time for x-mas…_


	6. C 06 Action

Chapter Six

Khila sat cross-legged on the throne, with fragments of symbol from the Pillar of Conflict in her lap. She was trying to fit them together again like a jigsaw and was doing quite well whilst Kain stared thoughtfully at the map Jor had pilfered him.

Eventually the sound of the clicking pieces of stone began to annoy him. "Why are you doing that?" he finally asked. It wasn't as if she could stick them back together again.

"Why not." She replied. "I have little else to do. Hmm, I think I'm missing a piece." She peered around her at the pieces on the floor.

Kain went back to the map to learn the route that would gain him entrance to the castle.

Five minutes later – "Kain?"

"Yes, what now?" he looked round again.

"Have you seen a piece that looks like _this_?" she drew in the air with one claw.

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "No, I have not. Really, Khila, this is not very constructive."

"This is plenty constructive," she pouted, "I am putting it together again; that's construction."

"What I meant was-"

She cut him off with a laugh. "I _know_ what you meant; I was trying to make a joke of it." She pushed the pieces out of her lap and onto the floor before standing up, dusting herself down and padding over to him. "Are you incapable to smiling?"

"No." he turned away. "I've just never found a reason to."

She scooped up another fragment from the floor. I was another symbol piece. She held it out to him. "I think that it is the Nature Pillar. Do you want to try?"

He blinked twice, and then shook his head. "I think you will find that there are far more pressing matters at hand; such as reaching Caucahn."

"If you stare at those maps much longer you shall go cross eyed and you shall look very silly indeed."

He ignored her comments and continued plotting.

"You do realise that there will be a lot of Hylden in the castle...a lot of warriors. Even with your fighting skills you could find yourself overwhelmed." She picked absently at the sleeve of her dress.

"If that is to be the case then I suppose I'll need someone to watch my back. Do you feel like volunteering? You _are_ the only person really I know here and I may require you to help me navigate the castle interior. I could find my own way but it would take more time. I believe I may need you with me."

Khila seemed to freeze briefly. "F-fight? I can't fight! I've never even _pretended_ to hit someone!"

Kain sighed. "I trust, then, that you will be a dedicated student."

"What!? You want to _teach _me!" she took a few steps backwards. "I-I-I can't!"

"You can and you will."

"But…I…I don't possess a weapon." Any excuse would do.

Kain drew the Soul Reaver and offered it to her hilt first. "That is easily remedied."

She backed away a few more steps. "No…I couldn't…and…and anyway it is not as if I would be the one to wield it later on. There is little point in learning combat with a weapon you will never use again."

He thrust the hilt at her. "Any sword will do for practice so take it." He carefully selected his 'Don't-You-Dare-Argue-With-Me' tone of voice.

It had the desired effect on her and she nervously wrapped her claws around the handle. Unfortunately as soon as Kain let go she dropped out of his line of sight and the tip of the sword hit the ground.

"Agh! It's heavy." Khila complained bitterly as she hefted it.

"It isn't _that_ heavy. For its size it is surprisingly light."

"Hnh, it probably helps if you're built like a brick outhouse." She grunted and gave the Reaver a few experimental swings.

"Just try to get the feel of it." He advised.

She did as she was told and with his directions she practiced some basic moves. It was slow progress and she found it hard to move because of her long dress so eventually she solved the problem by tearing off her dress from just above her knees down and then ripping slits up the sides of what was left. With that done she found the going much easier. Soon the weight of the sword became nothing to her as her arms and hands became accustomed to holding and wielding it and she began to perfect the moves she had been shown.

"You learn fast." Kain said approvingly. "But it isn't just about _knowing_ the moves; you have to be able to put them into practice and use them effectively as well."

"How do you mean?"

He drew himself up and stood tall (it wasn't hard). "Attempt to strike me down."

"Why would I want to do a thing like that?" she leaned on the Reaver as though it was a walking stick.

"It is all well and good slashing at the air but it is far different when it comes to attacking a living person who can move aside."

"But what if I hit you?"

He finally smiled, if only for a moment. "Trust me; you won't."

She was no match for him, of course, but he was impressed at how quickly she learned his dodges and blocks and how she began to experiment with her own improvised moves to try and catch him off guard.

They sparred around the Pillars for at least half an hour, during which time Kain would launch his own counter attacks to force her to learn how to use the sword _de_fensively as well as _off_ensively. At one point he allowed her to back him into a corner to prove to her that there was a way for your opponent to escape from _any_ situation but before he could demonstrate this she swung the blade too hard, he ducked under it and a good quarter of the blade became buried in the wooden wall.

She strained to try to pull it free but found that it was stuck tight. She couldn't even free it by putting both feet flat on the wall and pulling at it with all of her strength.

Kain was quite amused by this and had to stifle a laugh. "You struck it with impressive force." He applauded.

"Ghhnnnn! Damn! Oh yes, when the city is invaded by a horde of vicious trees I am sure that I will be called upon." She gave up trying to pull the Reaver out. "Kain…help."

He wandered over and yanked the Reaver free with little effort.

"Show off." Khila mumbled.

"That aside, I take it that the Wild Lands are somewhat far from the city."

"You are quite right." Khila then sighed. "The city is vast and the Wild Lands are treated in the same way you would treat a different world. all connections to it were severed. Roads were cut through it to link the cities but other than that the Wilds Lands are a complete no-mans-land. No one has been there for years and no one dares even think about it anymore. Not only is it dangerous once within but it is virtually inaccessible to vampires because of the Glyph barriers built to keep the Vetus contained…although they do always seen to find a way in."

"How do you know?"

"Well, there are always new corpses up on display. Hmm…that isn't right…" the last part of what she said seemed to have nothing to do with the first part, she was giving the floor a thorough inspection with her sight and had her head cocked to one side in thought.

"What?" Kain looked to the point on the floor she seemed so interested in. He could see nothing. Just a dusty floor.

"You have two shadows." She told him.

"Hnh?" he looked to his shadow…singular. It was there as it always was and there was definitely only one of it. "I only have one."

"No, you have two. One is you but the other…the other isn't right…it's a rag man. All tatty. It's beside the one that looks like you; just there." She pointed to the floor just to the right of him.

"I cannot see anything."

"Oh…never mind…maybe I'm going strange. Caucahn always says I'm mad. Mad Pet, he says, gone crazy in the head."

"Are you feeling quite alright?"

"What? Yes! I'm fine. So, you really want to kill Caucahn then…"

"Of course."

"Kain, are you so sure that you wish for me to go with you. I'll only slow you down and get in your way."

"I have already explained my reasons to you; you know the castle, you know Caucahn, thus things should be far easier if you are there to help me find him. Think of it this way; the less time we spend within the less chance there is of being discovered."

"I notice that you never use the words 'get caught'."

"Being captured is not an option and will not happen."

She suddenly beamed. "You really are just like the legends say."

For some reason he found this intensely disturbing. In this time if there was anyone who even knew his name they saw him only as a character in a story. Fiction…brought to life by a power he couldn't comprehend. "I'm sure there are things that he tales have omitted. Such things are rarely the complete truth. It all depends on who recorded the events; bias is something that can never be avoided."

"Really? Damn shame. I suppose we should start on our way then."

"Do you have a short attention span?" Kain asked her sincerely as they began their next journey. He was commenting on her forgetfulness and capacity to totally ignore rather major things that happened to her. She adapted to her situations far too quickly for his liking. He felt that something was amiss (but then again, when weren't they?)

"Huh? No, well at least I don't think so. I suppose that I wouldn't notice. Do _you_ think so?"

"Perhaps. You…well…do you remember when I left you to descend to the time streaming device?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Uh, huh." They exited the museum.

"You said something to me then that sounded as though you had the intention of killing yourself, yet you seem to have forgotten."

"Kill myself? Oh…yes…I did didn't I! I guess I was just being dramatic." She giggled. "I'm not suicidal. Wow, I must have the memory of a goldfish not to remember that." with a smile on her lips she awkwardly clambered up to the roof from which they would resume travelling.

Once he had followed her up she pointed out to a thin fog of green light that rose in a line far in the distance.

"Do you see that?"

"How could I miss it?"

"That is the boundary of the city, the green haze is a Glyph barrier that surrounds the entire city. between that barrier and the next cities barrier is the Wild Lands. You can imagine it like the Wild Lands being an ocean and the cities being continents if that helps. Now, do you see that gap in the barrier?"

"Yes?"

"That is where we are headed. It's the Southside Gate and is the closest gate to the pipeline…I think…we may have to, uh, dispose of the guards before we can pass though."

"Simple enough. Leave that to me."

"Oh good, I was hoping you would say that. Alright then, let's go."

From this place Kain could have used bat flight to reach the Southside gate but that would have meant leaving Khila behind and she really did come in handy….it looked like it as foot work from here on in.

As the city passed under them and the boundary grew closer Kain was reminded of the first time that they run the roofs together and what had preceded. He remembered feeding her his own blood (mentally wincing at the memory) and her indicating that she felt different somehow.

_You may have acquired some of my Dark Gifts. Isn't that what I told her?_

But she hadn't shown any further signs of power, had not professed a sudden ability to transmutate into other forms or use telekinesis. He didn't even know if she could use the Whisper. If he was honest with himself he would have admitted that he had actually forgotten about the Whisper seeing as he rarely used it anymore.

Even through everything Khila had told him he realised that he knew little about her. He knew enough but got the distinct feeling that he was missing something vitally important. Something had been bothering him about her since he had first set eyes on her.

_It's probably just because she looks like somewhat like me. _He concluded. _For all I know she could have originally been descended from my human family and vampirism has made the same changes to her as it has me._

"Is something wrong?" Khila's voice interrupted his train of thoughts.

"What? No, why?"

"Every time I look back you are staring at me." She told him.

He hadn't even noticed. "I was merely thinking. You needn't trouble yourself over what."

"Alright, I won't."

_There she goes again. How can she discard things so easily?_ In the end he supposed that like her ability to fade into the background her time as a pet and a slave had driven her to be able to erase her own thoughts and concentrate solely on her master's commands.

"You think I'm mad too. Don't you?" Khila piped up again.

"What makes you say that? Why should I presume you to be insane?"

"I hear voices…I forget things and don't care…I'm different to everyone else…I'm just all wrong."

"You don't notice and your differences do not stop you functioning as a person so why should _I _care. It's just the way you happen to be and no-one came blame you for that."

"I do notice sometimes." She said, clearing an alley from above. "I just try not to let it bother me. I don't realise I forget things but sometimes I feel I'm not supposed to be here, like need to be doing something; something important. I feel as though I'm living the wrong life."

"Living the wrong life?"

"That is the only way I can describe it. But I've been that way, well since forever really. Just another of my little quirks I suppose."

The barrier was growing steadily closer and what had once seemed a far green fog was now a solid glowing wall of emerald light.

It seemed, at first, strange to him that the Hylden would continue the use of Glyph magic when the Mass was long since dead…but figured that Glyph magic was merely a readily available and potent source of power that was easier to use than bulky steam engines and other forms of magical energy that was often more volatile.

Right at that moment he would have given anything to return to the vampire citadel which he had been so rudely snatched from.

But after everything he had been through, everything he had accomplished and discovered he knew that there was no way back from this. To do such a thing would require him to first find the creature that had dared to do this to him. The only clue and link he had was the single small gold coin that seemed to have been the centre of the transportation magic, he had no way of knowing who had done this or, more importantly, _why_. It was most likely that he had been sent here as a means of imprisonment; to keep him away from something.

And what of it? What was the damn point in complaining about it when there was noting he could do?

Yet his thoughts, no matter how hard he tried to control them, curled there way back and set there; pondering the futile thoughts. Someone wanted him out of the way, someone with the power to bend time…

Moebius? No, he was dead. So who else could have such ability? The Elder God seemed a likely candidate but it didn't seem his style. He didn't do things so directly…but it was still an option to keep in mind. Any other nominees? He could think of no one save for the other Time guardians who were also exceptionally dead. Was it possible that some other person had been able to tap into their power?

It was at this point that he ran swiftly into Khila, not looking where he was going. She had stopped quite suddenly and he had not noticed in time to prevent himself slamming straight into her.

Both of them produced noises along the lines of "Ouff!" But both managed to keep their balance.

Kain was then able to see the reason behind the abrupt and painful halt.

His thoughts must have been circling for over an hour because they were now just out of sight of the guards of the Southside gate.

"You were in a world of your own." Khila commented, keeping her voice down.

"No, just thinking." Likewise keeping his voice down.

"You do that a lot, I've noticed. Thinking deep thoughts?"

"Nothing really worth the time"

"We're here."

"I can see that, Khila."

From where they were he could make out only three guards of the variety he had slain whilst Khila had still been unconscious.

_Good_. He thought to himself. He was rather hungry now and was pretty sure he had heard Khila's stomach growling even though she herself wasn't complaining.

He left her where she was and floated down to ground level to ensure he was not heard. Useful trick if you can do it right.

He briefly entertained the idea of sparking off a call out that would have Hylden flocking to this site. A Battle Royale was something he felt he might enjoy.

He shook his head. _Now is not the time to indulge in killing spree fantasies. _He berated himself to straying off target. _Now is the time to get this done and over with._

One of the three guards fell promptly to the ground with his head bent at a disturbing angle due to his now broken neck whilst the remaining two were neatly chocked and pummelled into a state of dazed unconsciousness.

Khila came down and both of them gratefully fed until their blood hunger was sated. The Hylden did not survive the encounter.

Between the two Glyph walls and their generating towers of stone a double gate of wood and iron blocked the road out of the city. Two switches pulled simultaneously on either tower initiated their slow but steady opening.

The road into the Wild Lands greeted them.

Rubbing her claws as always, Khila led the way.

To Kain the Wild Lands were disturbingly familiar but he nurtured a small comfort from the fact that although Nosgoth was still corrupted to its core it had not become any worse than how he had left it before pursuing the edge of his metaphoric coin in the backwash of history.

This was the Nosgoth he remembered; the Wild Lands were the discarded remnants of his collapsed empire.

The wind whistled relentlessly through the bleached stone canyons and echoed like the ethereal cries of Nosgoth herself, screaming out in despair and pleading for release. Shadows twitched and pulsated in every corner and the twisted limbs of long dead trees whipped around the two vampires like reaching fingers.

Khila clutched Kain's arm tightly. "I want to go back." She wailed.

"No, I need you to at least show me the entrance to the pipe way…after that you may return if you so wish."

"What, _alone_?!" she was practically hugging his arm now. He had attempted numerous times to shrug her off, with general success, but had long since given up due to the fact that she would only latch on again five minutes later. She was like a limpet and a boomerang combined.

"There is no reason to be so afraid; there is nothing here." This was about the fifth time he had said such things to try and get her to shut up and let go.

"There is far more reason to fear what you cannot see than what is in plain sight, especially when you know what _should_ be here and isn't."

"Have you stopped to consider the possibility that these so called 'Wild' vampires may merely be stories to deter people form entering the Wild Lands?"

"The Vetus vampires _are_ real. Whenever one enters the city it is hunted down and killed and then the body is strung up so that everyone can see it."

"Like trophies…"

"I suppose that could be one way of describing them, yes."

"Tell me what you know of the Wild…Vetus vampires."

"I only know what Lord Caucahn and other sovereigns have chosen to tell me so it may not be entirely correct. Well…so far as I've been told there are five types; the strongest are said to be the Morlocks, they have powerful telekinetic abilities. The Ronins are the most commonly seen and possess incredible physical strength, the Alukas can be found in vast bodies of water and have been known never to come onto land like the sharks they resemble whilst the Wallcrawlers ascend to the higher places for they take the form of giant spiders. The weakest of the five are the Skinners; they've not been seen for many years now. Apparently they would attack anyone and anything to not only drain their blood but to also steal their skin…once one of the Skinners was seen attacking a fellow Vetus to take its flesh. There are rumours that there is a sixth Vetus species but no one has ever seen it."

As Khila spoke Kain listened intently and her descriptions of the Vetus species that were known were clear to him. They were the last remaining members of the Clans. The Morlocks were the Turelim, the Ronins had to be the Dumahim, the Alukas; Rahbim, Wallcrawlers; Zephonim and the Skinners were obviously Melchahim, but what of the sixth species; if they truly existed?

"How can you presume that there is a sixth when no-one had seen it?" he asked.

"I have no idea; it is just what I have heard. I don't know _anything_ about the sixth Vetus species, not even a name. It's all rumour."

They came to a fork in the rocky path. Both sides looked the same, both as ominous, foreboding and bleak as the other.

"Now which way?" he waited for an answer.

"I'm not sure…I have only ever been this way once…I think…maybe…left?"

"Why not right?" It wasn't Kain who spoke those words.

Both Kain and Khila span round and looked up to the source of the voice; up on top of the cliff wall there could be seen a figure obscured by thick shadow. All that could be said of the figure was that it was not human and sounded male. "Why not turn back?"

"Who are you?" Kain demanded, his hand rising to the hilt at his right shoulder whilst Khila released his arm and hid behind him.

"I am the hunter and the hunted." The figure said. "I am the last of the forgotten-"

"Spare me such gibberish and answer me plainly; are you friend or foe?"

"Hmm…the terms 'friend' and 'foe' generally designate a creature that you know well. I, however, am neither. I am simply one who is as yet unknown."

"Then show yourself." His voice was little more than a growl and the Reaver was fully drawn.

"Ah…" the figure sighed. "So my senses do not lie. I thought at first it must just have been my imagination, but alas, no; the murderer _has_ returned…and with a little kitten no less."

"The term 'murderer' when used in such a tone can also imply that the owner of the title is known to the accuser." Kain said to use the figure's own phrase to his advantage. "So, how do you know me?"

"There is a flaw in _your_ statement. Are not all vampires murderers to a degree?"

Khila peered over Kain's shoulder. "But you speak as though his crimes are greater. As though they affected you personally." She pointed out.

The figure shifted in his shadow. "You are smarter than you appear, Kitten."

"Who are you, creature?! Kain demanded once again. "I warn you that patience is not one of my virtues."

"Do you have any virtues? And besides, It is not _who _but_ what _that you should be concerning yourself with. If I was to tell you my name you would still be none the wiser. A name does not always designate identity."

"Then show yourself."

The figure gave a soft laugh. "Impatient as ever." He then said. "As you wish, Kain"

And so the figure jumped down from the cliff and made himself known.

He stood at least six feet tall, perhaps a little taller, and resembled the 'lieutenant' style of vampire Kain was now so used to seeing around. His hands were cloven claws, his mane of hair was scruffy and black and his skin was the pallor of death…but that was where the similarities ended. His top lip was cleft like a cat and from under it protruded four upper fangs, his ears were large and could be moved independently and he wore only a simple brown cloth breechclout to preserve his dignity. But his most distinguishing feature, the features you could not overlook no matter how hard you tried were the two massive, wide wings upon his back that, like his ears, resembled those of a bat, the membrane of which joined down the side of his body and legs all the way to his ankles (apart from where two small slits had been cut into them close to his skin so that the belt could be wrapped around his middle).

Kain couldn't stop himself from gasping as he realised what he was seeing.

The figure was not smiling. "See, murderer, there is more to identity than just names. I am Maddrell; the sole survivor of the Razielim clan."

_To be continued……_

_Well it's great to see that there are people continuing to enjoy whatI do. Big thanksto Varyssa, Lunatic Pandora 1and Smoke for comming back big cheesy grin. I'm very happy that you think I managed to get Kain right. AllNightDreamer;I will try to remember to keep the comments out of the storyline and I'm glad to hear you think Khila is a good OC.Manus Dei, you should be happy to know that Raziel will be mentioned again, but you'll just have to keep reading._

_Thank you all and Merry Christmas!_

_P.S - how often do youthink Ishould I update?_


	7. C 07 Vetus

Chapter Seven

Kain could say nothing…he was, for the first time in his life, too shocked to speak.

"We never met." Maddrell reassure him. "I was barely a fledgling when my sire went to confront you with his new gift."

"How……?" Kain managed to force a single word out.

"I was no fool, I knew from what I had heard of you that you would not be able to tolerate Raziel's surpassing your abilities and I knew that you would not stand for his children acquiring the same gifts that you did not possess, so I left. I tried to persuade others to join me and I gave them my reasons but they just laughed and told me that I was paranoid. I left Nosgoth entirely and journeyed into the lands beyond, where your influence did not reach. I was already on my way before you even ordered the cull. I later heard through tradesmen of the foul genocide you committed against my siblings. To this day I can clearly recall the moment that I was told…how sick I felt inside."

Kain's thoughts finally cleared; it did not matter in the least that this vampire had survived the Razielim cull, it was a surprise for sure but not truly important and it did not affect anything. It was only a minor mystery.

"How is it that you can have survived all these years yet have evolved so little, and why is it that it seems you are _still_ the only Razielim left, why have you not sired your own clan and continued the blood heritage?" he had to admit that he was intrigued…and slightly worried. Khila was petrified. Every now and again Kain would hear her whisper words along the lines of 'the sixth Vetus!' by his left ear.

"You ask too many questions." Maddrell sneered. "I should kill you for what you have done, however; I am curious as well and I want to know by what means you were able to return to this still dying world so long after your execution."

"That is something that I cannot and will not discuss."

"Well, in that case; _why_ are you here and what do you want? Nosgoth no longer belongs to you. The cities are the property of the Hylden and the Wild Lands are where the Vetus vampires do what we can to survive. You, Kain, belong only where the damned spirits roam." He began to saunter towards his grandsire and former lord.

Khila rushed forwards and stood between the two of them. "Please don't kill each other!" she begged.

"You are very forward for a pet." Maddrell crossed his arms, annoyed that she was in his way. She wouldn't be much of a challenge to remove from his path but it would just be embarrassing; a Vetus vampire bullying a pathetic kitten from the big city.

"Don't you _dare_ call me 'pet' again." she stamped her foot like a spoilt child. "My name is Khila."

Maddrell sniffed. "I promise nothing, Kitten, now step aside or you'll find yourself getting hurt."

Khila continued to stand her ground. "No. I don't know what has occurred between you and Kain but if it happened as long ago as it sounds then surely it is pointless to argue over it _now_. Please, sir, we just wish to pass through here."

He gave her a sideways look. "Pass through to where? Beyond the Wild Lands there are simply more cities. Why leave one hell just to go to another?"

Kain came up as close to Maddrell as he could get without treading on Khila. "We are not going to another city. We are here to use the abandoned pipelines to gain access to the drained pool in the grounds of Caucahn's castle. From there I will reach and destroy him and I shall regain Nosgoth piece by piece."

"If Caucahn is still alive then how do you have the Soul Reaver?"

"I told you before, Maddrell, I will not discuss such things, just know that Nosgoth still is and always shall be _mine_."

"Neither Nosgoth nor the vampires need or want you, Kain." Maddrell pushed Khila aside and jabbed a claw into Kain's chest. "You couldn't defeat the Hylden before so what makes you think that you can beat them now that they are stronger than they have ever been?"

Kain's claws curled even tighter around the Reaver, if it had been any normal sword the handle would have broken from the pressure. "I care not how strong they are nor how vast their armies may be for they will fall all the same once their leader is dead and I reform the Clans." Already there were new strategies and plans storming in his thoughts.

"I cannot let you do that, Kain. There are no 'Clans', just the six species of Vetus vampires; the Wild ones. We have all worked _so_ hard to gain all that we have; pretending to be nothing more than mindless, dumb animals so that we are no longer threats and are in turn ignored unless we are caught in the cities. It is the only way for us to live unless we are pets. I will not have you ruin what peace we have achieved. We do not need you."

"I warn you now, Maddrell, no one shall stand against me."

"And what if the 'Clans' reject you? What then? Perhaps they will be pleased you have returned but they will never again fly the flag of an army."

"We shall see." The tension between them was unbearable.

Kain was vaguely aware of someone trying to pull him away; Khila had linked arms with him again. "Let's just go, eh? I think I can remember the way now."

He diligently ignored her and snarled at Maddrell. "Dare you challenge me?"

Maddrell reached behind him and drew a pair of ornate handled serrated dirks and held them up defensively. How he had managed to hide them when he wore such scant clothing was mystery. "If a challenge is what you wish to call it then yes; I do." he took a short jump back and made a fighting stance, flaring out his wings to emphasise his presence.

Kain shook Khila off and adopted his own familiar stance. "I'll be sure to give you a descent burial."

Khila stood in the middle again. "Kain, this isn't helping. Can't you settle this some other time? Please can we just leave? I don't think the pipeline is very far from here.

Kain ignored her utterly, almost looking straight through her. "Do you honestly think that you have even the smallest hope of defeating me?" he growled at Maddrell.

"Yes." Maddrell replied with an evil little smile on his lips. "You may bear the Soul Reaver, Kain, but a weapon is only as good as the man that wields it. Every creature has a weakness; even _you_."

"Are you willing to risk your life to test your theory?"

Khila could feel the aggression practically radiating from each of them and she knew that if she did not do something fast they would slaughter one another right there in front of her. Her eyes snapped from Kain to Maddrell and back again and then she resorted to the only thing she could think of to catch their full attention; she screamed.

Both Kain and Maddrell dropped their respective weaponry and clamped their claws firmly over their ears; Khila's scream was of a pitch so high and loud it was agonizing. She had screamed a lot in her lifetime and had honed her voice until it could damage the hearing of those who had the misfortune to listen to it. Her scream had been the only way for her to get back at her torturers and tormentors.

By the time her lungs were empty of air and her scream had finished reverberating around the canyon walls both of the affected vampires were on their knees in pain. Khila gasped a few breaths and then waited for them to get back up again.

"Have you two quite finished now?" she asked politely, if not breathlessly.

"Pardon?" Kain grunted loudly, temporarily deafened, and retrieved the Reaver from where he had dropped it.

Maddrell, who was somewhat dazed and who had briefly lost all sense of balance, leaned heavily on the cliff wall to keep upright with eyes wide in shock.

Kain looked at Khila, he was somewhat impressed…although he wished his ears would stop ringing.

He was about to speak when she interrupted him before he could even start. "You two can shout at each other until you are blue in the face and fight until there is blood on the floor but at the end of the day nothing will have changed and nothing will have been solved."

Maddrell finally composed himself. "Kitten, you know nothing of this vile, depraved old beast." A claw was thrust rudely in Kain's direction. If it had been close enough it would have been bitten clean off.

"Now see here," Khila said, her voice rising, "Kain has been nothing less than cordial to me, in fact, he has been kinder than any man, woman or creature I have ever known. Not even my original mother cared enough to protect me as he has, when he barely knows my name. I will not allow you to speak to him in such a manner. Mind. Your. Tongue." The last three words were slow and deliberate and were of a tone Kain had not before heard from her. Was it anger?

Maddrell made a grunt best written as "Hrumf." And crossed his arms. After a moment of intense mumbling he decided it would be better if he attempted to rescue his dignity. "Don't take that tone with _me_, Kitten. I am many millennia your elder."

"So what?" she said.

"Ah…" he had to stop there because he didn't actually have an answer. "I could really learn to dislike you."

"So does this make me a victim of guilt by association? I favour Kain so I must too be your enemy for no decent reason?"

"I didn't say that!"

"It's amazing what you can say without speaking."

Kain pushed past Maddrell. "However fascinating this encounter may be I really must be going now. Khila?"

"Oh…coming!" she ran on after him, pausing briefly to turn and poke her tongue out at Maddrell.

"You know, you are going entirely the wrong way." Maddrell sighed.

"We are?" Khila asked. "I swear this is the right way."

"Yes, it is but it is also the long and dangerous way. Come with me and I'll take you to the Refuge. From there you can get to the pipe line without any Hylden patrols noticing you."

"The Refuge?" Kain questioned.

"The Refuge is exactly what it sounds to be; a place where we Vetus can be safe." Maddrell picked up his dirks, hid them away and began to walk.

Khila waited for Kain to follow before she did.

"So, Maddrell, how are the clans?" Kain asked as Khila skipped on ahead and stopped every so often to make sure she was still going in the correct direction.

"Surviving." Maddrell told him. "That's just about it."

"How have they evolved since my departure?"

"A lot. You would probably be able to recognise who belongs to what clan but they have pretty much degenerated since last you saw them. They seem to be _de_volving. Their forms grow worse with every mutation. The Turelim's Gifts are beginning to destroy their own minds while their bodies weaken due to them not needing to use their muscles any more; such is their telepathic and telekinetic ability now. The Dumahim are fast outgrowing the Refuge. They are the opposite of what the Turelim are now; their bodies grow larger and stronger while their minds fade. The Rahabim can no longer leave the water and are burned by even the weakest forms of light…even the glow from a candle can cause their skin to blister. The Zephonim become more like arachnids every change. Now they hardly ever leave the walls and their bodies barely resemble vampires at all. Eight legs, eight eyes, mandibles…they are just giant bugs now. And as for the Melchahim…well…there is only one left, Darent, and he is almost dead now. Darent can hardly be called a person any longer. He is just a mass of flesh and blood. His bones cannot support his weight and now he spreads across the floor of his chamber, nothing more than a loose sac of constantly rotting flesh and fluids. You can just about define his head and limbs, not that he can speak, see or move. We feed him and bring him hides to keep him alive but I doubt he can hold on much longer, the poor bastard."

"Why have_ you _not evolved as far as others?"

"Because I did not let myself." The last Razielim replied. "Whilst I was outside of Nosgoth I had a chance encounter with a nomadic shaman who in return for me sparing his life taught me a magic technique that allows me to prevent myself from entering the state of change."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"I heard word of what was becoming of your precious sons and I didn't want to end up that way; I gave my solemn oath that I would not end up that way. I allowed myself one last evolution, bringing me to the form I have now and then I never changed again; and I never will. Every time I stop myself developing I can feel what would have happened and I am glad that I stopped when I did. In my minds eye I can see clearly the monster that I would have changed into."

"What would happen if you allowed yourself to enter the state of change again?" Khila asked out of curiosity. She had not experienced a change herself. She had fallen back a few steps to hear what they were talking about.

"I fear I would acquire all of my missing transformations at once." He told her and shuddered at the thought.

Khila made a face and then skipped off again, humming and smiling.

"So where did you find her? You do realise that she is Caucahn's prize pet." Maddrell asked Kain as Khila went ahead.

"You know her?"." Kain commented.

"No but…well, Caucahn wasn't the only one to see the resemblance between you and her. I have kept an eye on her whenever I could. I feel so sorry for that poor girl, having to look in the mirror and see the ghost of _your_ face in her own."

"I don't like you."

"Oh, don't worry; the feeling is mutual. So, why _did_ you help her? You cannot have felt sorry for her; pity is not something that shrivelled, rotting organ in your chest is capable of. Did you expect her to give you a little something in return?"

"Yes I did actually;_ information_." He was genuinely insulted by the implications of Maddrell's question. "What do you take me for?"

"An evil, twisted and self centred murdering psychopath who cares only for his own desires and satisfaction."

Such a statement should have sparked a battle of epic proportions between them, however, Khila interrupted with yet another of her innocent little statements that were carefully placed to keep the two of them away from each others throats. "Is it just me or did we already go through this canyon? I swear I've seen that gnarly old stump of a tree before."

"Everything looks the same here." Maddrell explained. "If you took away the Hylden constructs you would be left with rock and desert…well, mainly rock and desert. There is water in places, rivers and the like, but hardly anything will actually grow properly any more. The Hylden cultivate plants and trees in special gardens for air and crops but out here patches of greenery are few and far between. You're lucky to find scrub."

"Maddrell, I must ask you something." A thought had just occurred to Kain.

"What?" Maddrell snapped in reply.

"What became of the Abyss?" He had finally worked out what it was that had been missing from his view of the city before he had taken to his bat form; there was no gaping open pool of swirling madness.

"The Abyss…no longer exists. The waterfalls that fed it were diverted so that it drained; it was then covered over and built on. It's a great big open rock mouth under the city. Empty and dry. I was wondering how long it would take for you to ask about it, you were always so fond of it…so fond of _throwing people into it, you selfish, arrogant, jealous, heartless BASTARD!"_

Maddrell launched himself at Kain who dodged aside and let the enraged Razielim careen into the canyon wall.

Khila came running back; throwing herself in between the two of them again as they both made to strike each other down. Once again putting herself in harms way to preserve a kind of peace between them.

Thankfully they were both able to turn aside their attacks before they killed her.

She peered out between her claws. "Can't you just forget about it…you're argument is surly too old to mean anything any more."

"You don't know what he did!" Maddrell screeched. "I want to help you, I don't want vampires as pets any more than you do but I just cannot bring myself to even be near that-that sick and twisted creature, that _thing_ that has the gall to call itself a sentient being."

"Oh just stop it! No wonder you and the Vetus are barely surviving; how can you expect to build a future when you can't let go of the past?!"

"Let go of the past…" his voice suddenly grew quiet. "I wish I could, Kitten, but that little bit of past has shaped my entire life. That monster has killed every member of my race; my sire, my brothers, my sisters….all of them. How can you tell me to forget that?" his eyes seemed dark, his expression almost sad.

"Oh, I-I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry."

"I'm not upset."

"If you say so." Kain grunted.

"Oh drop dead!"

"Pah! I did that a long time ago."

"Well why can't you _stay_ dead for once?!"

Khila sighed and stepped between them again. "How many times are you two going to argue?" she asked.

"I don't know." Maddrell said, glaring at Kain over her shoulder. "Why don't you start counting?"

"Can't you just show us to the pipe like you said you would?"

"Maybe. I may just change my mind."

"Please, Maddrell." Her hands were behind her back, shoulders raised and one foot claw was marking the ground in a very childlike gesture. She even had faun eyes. "_Please_, just show us the way…we'll never bother you again. Never ever."

"Oh, don't look at me like that." Maddrell complained. "Stop trying to look cute; you're succeeding."

She smiled. "_Please._"

"Alright, alright, just stop using those eyes." he waved one hand as though attempting to wave her expression away.

The rest of the journey as conducted mainly in bleak silence broken only by Khila's whistling and humming.

Maddrell strode along ahead and Kain trailed behind with Khila between them as a shield of sorts.

The quiet gave Kain time to think, yet again.

How Nosgoth had changed; not even the Abyss had survived the Hylden's cities. The only thing left from the past was Maddrell and Kain had never known or heard of him. He knew that Maddrell had every reason to despise him and he could accept that but he just couldn't help but return the anger. Maddrell didn't know why Kain had done what he did and nor would he ever be able to understand even if he was told. The Razielim's eyes and thoughts were clouded and twisted with a bitterness and resentment and that would never lift.

No one could understand.

He was suddenly aware that Khila was walking beside him. "You're thinking again, aren't you?" she said. "If I thought that much I would end up with a terrible migraine."

"Well I have had years of practice." He told her.

"Is that a hint of a joke I hear oh heartless one?"

"You'll have to decide for yourself."

Her smile faded a little. "Kain, is it true what Maddrell and the books all say? Did you really order the destruction of an entire race of vampires?"

"Apart from Maddrell, yes. I'll not lie."

"But why? What did they do? I'm sure you must have had good reason but I just can't understand…"

"I cannot explain it, Khila. Just accept the fact that my actions were for the greater good no matter how evil they seemed. It wasn't out of jealousy regardless of how it appeared."

"So, they hadn't done anything wrong at all? They were just some kind of sacrifice?"

"You can think of it that way, I suppose. It isn't something that I'm proud of but neither am I ashamed; I did what I had to do."

"Well I hope it was worth it."

_I thought it was…but now…now does it mean anything at all?_

"I take it by your lack of reply that things did not quite work out as planned."

"Everything was fine until…"

"Until what?"

"Until I ended up here. But it seems that I shan't be getting back so nothing has really made a blind bit of difference. You may as well for get the subject."

"Hint taken."

Maddrell led them through and out of the canyon, up onto a rocky overhang, the edge of which that would reveal a trail leading down the cliff face; a trail that was barely visible even though it was astoundingly large. It could only really be found if you knew where it was.

The cliff overlooked a great deal of the Wild Lands and though the ground was parched and dark, compared to the city it was something quite fine. Much of the Wild Lands had been transformed by time and hand into glittering lakes, shining with the light of the moon. The lakes and connecting rivers had been crafted by Hylden as a means of once more keeping the Vetus out of the way but instead it had provided more space for the Rahabim who now happily inhabited them. The surface of the waters were briefly broken every so often by something sliding through the seemingly empty liquid sapphires.

Khila gaped. "I've never seen so much space before…" she said in wonder.

"I'd expect nothing less from a city pet." Maddrell sighed. "Now hurry up please. This way."

In the face of the cliff, hidden by the overhang and by clinging scrub plants and grasses, was the wide open mouth of what Maddrell called the Refuge; a simple but enormous complex of tunnels and caverns within the ground.

To be continued…… 

_Author's Note – Woohoo! This seems to be going well. It's good to know you still think it's worth reviewing. Anyway, replies!_

Smoke –_A bit about Khila will be revealed in the next chapter.I'm glad you spotted the development names, as I really wasn't sure if anyone would get it. Hmm…back burner…I'm working on my Hellsing fic at the moment too, but as for LoK I had an idea for a angsty one shot ficlet and a humour multi-chapter but on reflection the former would just take too long to get the emotion in and the latter is of a type that's already been done to death, so I doubt either will happen. In BtE you'll only see Maddrell, but maybe there are others somewhere, y'never know._

Varyssa – _Romantic involvement, eh, are you hoping for any? Think it should happen? I've never done romance before, so I hadn't really planned for it...spose I could try… That aside, me's happy you liked the shadow and yes Mr. Rag Man is our beloved Raziel. _

Windra – _Glad to have you on board, welcome to my imagination. You should definitely play the Blood Omens. Yup; Maddrell is a survivor and you'll be seeing quite a bit more of him over the next couple of chapters or so._

Lunatic Pandora 1 – _Or maybe older. He was sired before Raz's execution and has lived through the clan's destruction, Kain's empire and the Hylden empire to that day. I can't actually pin an age on him right now…maybe I aught to try._

AllNightDreamer – _Yay! You came back! Your reviews really help as they give me some useful constructive criticism as well as what bits I'm getting right. I know I brought in Maddrell too soon but I was honestly out of ideas for that part. It looks bad to me too…I'll fix it some day. Any ideas for it are appreciated, as I'm still clueless. Oooh! If/when you draw Maddrell please please please can you find a way to show me, I would love to see. (I tried once but my drawing is crap, he's missing his right foot and right wing...i drew him from the side...and looks too cute.)_

Manus Dei – _Heh, I never intended for it to be humorous but the comic comments just slip in there. As for arguments, I can have some fun with those two (sorry 'bout lack of Raz). I'm not sure, however, how long I'll be able to keep Maddrell in the foreground (as it were) because the more characters I have together the harder I find my stories are to write. I get confused after about three so I always keep it to a bare minimum P.S – I still have plans for Raz, so stay tuned._

_Phew, that was long but I think I got everything covered. Thank you again and bye for now! I'll try to make the next update sooner._


	8. C 08 Revelation

Chapter Eight

If Maddrell was not exaggerating and the Dumahim really _were_ outgrowing the Refuge then they must be colossal in size. The chambers and passageways were large enough for Dumah himself to have been comfortable in and still have room to spare.

The air was even colder within the Refuge than it was out in the open, as though the stone itself was emanating the chill in response to the general mood of the place.

Every so often, in strategic places, storm lanterns had been hung from chains and hooks to illuminate the Refuge but not to allow light to spill out and give themselves away to peering Hylden patrols.

Throughout the places they were taken through Kain could see the odd few items and objects that suggested the Vetus vampires did indeed reside there even though he could not find sight of the vampires themselves. In corners there were fragments of discarded carapace, claw marks in the walls, forgotten skeletons of human and Hylden meals from many moons ago…all symbols of occupation in the dark emptiness.

Maddrell turned yet another sharp corner and mooched off into another large room, this one seemed even more dark and vacant than the others. The walls were only roughly shaped and the floor uneven. Only one lantern at the centre struggled to give enough thin light to fill the space and it was failing miserably. Through the gloom a large lattice gate could be seen at the other end of the room. It appeared to be blocking the way to another tunnel.

"And where does that lead?" Kain asked, tired of the endless corridors of stone and not knowing what direction he was travelling in.

"Take a wild guess." Maddrell barked.

"The pipeline."

"Ooh, any sharper and you'll cut yourself."

"May I remind you, Maddrell, that it was _you_ who approached _us_ and not the other way around, so you can damn well get off my back."

"I'm not on it!"

"Can't you just forget it for five minutes? Pretend I'm someone else. You know, Raziel _did_ come back." He was really scraping the bottom of the barrel for things to shut the bat-eared annoyance up.

"But you still killed him and the clan! Just because _he_ came back that doesn't excuse you from the initial action nor all the other murders! I hate you! I want you to die!"

Khila sighed as the two vampires she seemed to have befriended continued to argue. For a while she tried to listen in and follow what they were saying but she soon got confused and gave up. She leant against the bars of the gate and waited for them to finish their childish taunts.

She half dozed for a while but did not sleep; she couldn't, not with all of their yelling.

Maddrell had started all of this; he had refused to let up on what had happened so long ago.

She looked at him critically and as she stared she felt something, just for a second…a _connection_. Maddrell blinked a few times and shook his head as though something was bothering him, then it was gone.

What was this? Had _she_ just done that? And what was that connection she had felt? It was as if for just a short moment she had been linked to him by thought alone.

She remembered back to when she had drunk from Kain's wrist back in the city…what was it that he had said? _'I think that you may have acquired some of my Dark Gifts.'_ Was this one of them? She tried to think back to a book she had snuck a look at once that had mentioned some of the Gifts that Kain had…could this be a form of his Charm ability? She had not felt as though she had been within Maddrell's mind, it had been more as though she had been beside it, just touching the edge of it…just enough to, maybe, influence it but not take possession of it…

She concentrated again and again there came the same cold connection that she had felt before. She concentrated harder, to keep the connection firm and in her mind she called out a voiceless order to him. It wasn't the Whisper; it was something far deeper that you heard with your soul rather than your mind or ears.

_Silence!_

Maddrell visibly flinched and stopped in mid-rant with his sentence forgotten. He groaned and held his head as a wave of dull, aching pain washed through it.

Khila felt the connection break once the command had taken effect and so simply watched the result.

Kain looked at Maddrell. "What happened?" he asked, although was not concerned.

"I-I-My head…argh, it hurts…" but the pain was fading now.

Khila stifled a giggle and smiled. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes." Maddrell replied, straightening up. The pain was now gone. "I don't know what happened…I just stopped, it was like I _had_ to stop, whether I wanted to or not, it was like my mind just went ahead and did its own thing. It was strange, it was as though someone had given my thoughts a little push." He then glared at Kain. "You bastard, that was an evil trick to play."

"I did nothing of the sort!"

"Don't try to deny it! There is no one else here with the ability to control the minds of others, how dare you violate me so! Stay out of my head, you pervert! It's like mental rape!"

"Oh, please don't start again, it isn't his fault." Khila called from where she was still leaning casually against the gate. "_I_ did it."

"What? But you are just a pet…" Maddrell said.

"I have some of Kain's Dark Gifts because I drank his blood, although I think I only have weak versions of them." she admitted and then looked to Kain…there was a strange expression on his face, something she had not seen before…it was as though he was pleased with her. "I don't think I can control people completely but I think I can manipulate them in small ways." She was rather happy about this too; she'd never had any kind of gift before, let alone a Dark one.

"Well, what else can you do?" Maddrell asked.

"I don't know. I only discovered that one by accident."

"Well just don't do it again, alright. That was awful. I feel so used."

"I'm sorry." She said apologetically. "I really am. I didn't know it was that bad."

"It isn't really." Kain said. "It all depends on how strong a persons mind is. I think you only managed it with Maddrell because he was not expecting it…also; he is an idiot. However, if you tried it again on him I doubt it would work now that he knows. You don't need to worry."

Khila moved her hand to brush her hair out of her face, but as she did so she felt something else that was new…she felt…light. She looked at her hand; tendrils of thin white mist seemed to be flowing from it.

She frowned and was about to say something along the lines of 'that isn't normal' but was interrupted when her whole body faded in soft fog and fell through the bars she was leaning on, leaving a few wisps of mist behind. As soon as she was through her solid self reformed and she hit her head on the ground. "Ow!"

"Ah, I think we have just discovered another Dark Gift." Kain observed.

She picked herself up off the floor. "What the hell did I do?"

"You passed into your Mist form."

"I don't want it!"

"I don't think you have much of a choice."

Khila touched the bars of the gate. She stayed solid. Her body decided not to disintegrate into vapour again.

"I suggest that you learn how to use that Gift; it may well come in handy and I may require you to employ it whilst we are in the castle." Kain told her.

Khila leaned her head against the gate. "Kain, I don't feel very well."

"It's just the shock, it will pass. Maddrell, are you going to be useful and open this gate or are you just going to stand there?"

"Don't try to tell me what to do!" but even as Maddrell yelled those words he was extracting a key from his breechclout. Again, how he managed to hide _anything_ but his decency within it was a question to baffle even the most brilliant of minds. "Out of the way, old man." He turned the iron key in the heavy lock with a loud echoing click and then slid the gate across into the wall. The old metal creaked in protest; it had been many years since the gate had last been moved.

Khila looked quite faint. "I _really_ don't feel well, Kain." She murmured.

"Oh, come now, don't be so silly. Pull yourself together." But as he neared her she keeled over backwards with a sigh.

"Khila?" Kain knelt and reached out to check on her, but as his hand touched the skin of her arm he had to snatch it away again; she was burning hot. The air around her began to quaver with heat haze and not only that but the shackles that still clung to her wrists were _melting_, the metal was turning to liquid and shrinking away from her…

"What's happening to her!" Maddrell gasped, backing up from the invisible blaze radiating from her body. "What did you do to her!"

"I did nothing!" he replied, likewise backing up rapidly and raising his arm before his face.

"This is all your fault!"

"How?"

"I don't exactly know but it just is! You are evil and so you did it, don't try to deny it!"

"You are insane. I have done nothing."

"Then why did she pass out when you went near her, eh?"

"Co-incidence. Didn't you hear her saying that she felt unwell?"

"Yes, and I also heard _you _telling her that it was all in her head."

"I said no such thing."

"Well maybe that wasn't the _exact_ phrase used but they were words to that effect!"

While the two of them stood bristling toe-to-toe, venting their spleens, Khila's aura of heat haze simmered down and dissipated.

When they finally took a break from hurling insults and accusations they noticed that Khila was still unconscious.

"Hmm, the air around her has stopped trembling." Kain said and then cautiously laid the back of his hand on her arm. "She isn't burning any more." _What in the hell was that? Was she about to Immolate herself! I can barely remember the last time I used that Gift…what else of mine does she have? Is she going to turn into a wolf while she sleeps? Or teleport away without understanding how? Does she have any control at all?_

"Well, it looks as though you're going to be alone on this little trip; she's in no condition to go anywhere. Leave her here with us; we'll see she never returns to Hylden hands. She'll be quite safe." Maddrell told him.

Kain considered this. "I'm afraid that she has to go with me. I'll just have to wait for her to wake up." _Good grief, how many times is this woman going to pass out?_

"Look here; firstly, she may not wake up at all. Secondly, if she does wake up we don't know how long that will take nor what she will be like. For all we know that little episode could have fried her brain."

"I need her. I will wait."

"I thought patience wasn't one of your virtues."

"It is when I require it to be."

"Are you sure I can't persuade you to leave? I really don't want you anywhere near me."

"Maddrell you couldn't _throw_ me out let alone get me to go of my own will. Deal with it."

"I wish the ground would swallow and crush you." Maddrell said matter-of-factly as he picked up the once again comatose Khila. "I wish you would fall into a pond and burn. I wish you would trip and fall on the Reaver and I wish I could be there to see it so that I could laugh and finally feel that there is some kind of justice in this fetid world."

"You don't mince your words do you?"

"What's the point? You have to be succinct or people will never take you seriously. I've never believed in drawing out a simple fact."

"If that is the case you can stop saying how much you hate me, you have made your point."

"Oh, now I said I liked to be to the point but I never said I wasn't fond of repeating myself. There is nothing wrong with driving the message home."

"So I've noticed."

"Look, why don't you go and take a walk around the Refuge or something? I'll keep an eye on little Kitten here and Whisper if and when she wakes. I think it would be for the best if you kept the hell away from me…one of us is going to die otherwise." Then he added under his breath, "and trust me it will be you."

"I heard that."

"Really? Oh well, have fun."

With his piece well and truly said Maddrell went to find a room for Khila to sleep off the unfortunate side effect of her Dark Gifts.

So, yet again Kain was left on his own in unfamiliar territory.

Well at least this time it should be unfamiliar, _friendly, _territory, which was a nice change from the danger infested places he had grown so acclimated to over the years.

The Refuge had a good feel to it; it felt lived in unlike so many places that seemed mainly for show and practicality rather than comfort or rest.

Although he was unsure as to what kind of reception would await him he decided to go and find some of the Vetus if it was at all possible.

He wondered how many, if any at all, remembered him or whether, like the pets of the city, they only knew _of_ him as a historical fairy tale figure.

As he meandered through the corridors of stone he wondered where all of the Vetus actually where; even though he could see and feel that the Vetus did live here he couldn't actually find any of them.

As minutes faded into an hour he strolled casually into yet another very large, _very_ dark and very empty room…well, empty except the vast open pool that occupied most of the floor space. The water was beyond murky and the surface almost as still as stone. For a moment, when he had first seen it, he had thought that it might have been black ice but a deftly tossed stone broke the illusion of solidity and sent expanding ripples reaching out for the confining walls of the miniature lake.

As he turned to exit a voice called out to him in his mind. "Why…did you leave us?"

He faced the water just in time to see a smooth shark-like befanged head rise part way out of the water, the small cheerless black eyes glinting in the gloom. "Why did they all have to die?"

A Rahabim; finally one of the elusive Vetus had come forth to greet him…although he doubted that this was going to be a happy meeting. "Who do you mean?"

"Did your own sons' lives mean so little to you? You knew that Raziel had returned with vengeance empowering him yet you did nothing to stop him even when he came for you…why?"

"Some things are too hard to explain." Kain told the Rahabim whose eyes showed the distress in its soul. "Despise me if you wish to but I will feel no shame nor will I ask to be forgiven. What's done is done."

"But it could be undone…"

"Explain."

"Think of it; anything can be undone. _You_ should know that. You changed history by killing King William…or so it is written and told…and the Hylden; that is how they were able to come here in the first place. All because time so fragile…"

"And if you could go back, would you?" Kain asked, moving to the side of the pool. "Would you change things?"

The Rahabim slid back under the water for a short while and then poked his head back up to just under his eyes. "No, I would not dare." He said. "I could not be sure that what I did would not just make things worse. Best just to accept the present and hope for something better to come. Time is not a toy; if you break it you can't fix it or throw it away and get a new one."

"That is a sensible decision to make."

The Rahabim blinked with translucent eyelids. "How were you resurrected again?"

Once more came the question that had been following since his arrival; he was supposed to be dead, so how was it possible that he was walking around? "Magic." He said, falling back on the nice but annoying all-round answer that could provide explanation for close to everything.

"Is Caucahn dead?"

"No. I took the Soul Reaver back but could not find him. I will soon though. Very soon." Kain just couldn't be bothered to go into everything, he may as well just find a suitable lie that people could readily accept and comprehend.

"Oh…what do you want with us then? Do more have to die?"

"Only the Hylden, child. There is no need for vampire deaths any longer. The enslavement and suffering will soon be over."

"I wish I could believe you." Again the Rahabim's head dipped under the cold surface and popped up again.

_Oh, I've heard that before, I think it's time to change the subject. _"How many of you are there?" Kain couldn't help but ask.

"Not enough. There are barely fifty of us in total."

Kain gaped. "_Fifty_, is that all!"

"Yes, that is all. We can barely find enough humans to feed us let alone sire them. We die off but none emerge anew. The Hylden are doing an effective job of exterminating us."

_Fifty? Why does that shock me so? Was there not a time when I was the sole surviving vampire in Nosgoth?_

"If it makes you feel any better," the Rahabim continued, "There are a little over a hundred pets if you count them from all of the cities." Something resembling a comforting smile camped itself on the Rahabim's fishy features that were half obscured by the water.

Kain sat down at the edge of the pool and crossed his legs, resting his arms on his knees. "Where are all of the other Vetus? I could not find them."

"They are here there and everywhere. We are few and Nosgoth is large. We try not to come to the Refuge unless we have to and even then only for the daylight hours, it stops us feeling so much like prisoners within a self made cage. But it is a central place for us and we cannot help but return if only to see each other and confirm we still do exist."

"Have you given up so completely? Did you never try to overthrow the Hylden rule?"

"Of course, but with consistent failure. We had to give up; we had no choice. For a while Maddrell spoke of leaving Nosgoth again but the Hylden have spread so far that that would be impossible. We worry for Maddrell…"

"Why is that?"

"After you left and the Hylden took over, when he actually came back to Nosgoth, Maddrell was the one that kept us together. He was always strong for us and made the decisions that we were too afraid to make, such as retreating away and stopping the fight so that we could preserve our numbers and gather new vampires before returning to offensive positions. During that time some humans even came to us willing to be turned. But in the end it was no good. It was Maddrell's idea also to retreat for good and pretend to become 'wild' so that we would be ignored. After that we were able to piece ourselves together again."

"So why do you worry for him? He seems well to me."

"You do not know him as we do. He has changed…he has lost his fire. Not long ago he told us to go separate ways and find places to be forgotten to be safe. He told my brothers and I to take to the sea and erase the rest of our kind from our minds. He has little hope in anything now."

"After so many years it is no surprise that he has broken." _Although he doesn't act that way in _my_ presence_. "So why did you stay? Why did you not go as he told you to?"

"I will not abandon my kin. If we are to die we will die together. We vowed that none of us would ever have to go alone. When Darent's soul finally is released one of us will be beside him. Darent is that last Melcha-"

"I know; Maddrell explained to me." Kain cut of the Rahabim's sentence.

"I heard you arguing. Maddrell seems a little more like his old self with you and that girl around. Who is she? Maddrell has been fascinated by her these past few years."

"She is…an enigma. She is a pet, Caucahn's pet. Or rather, she _was_ until I freed her."

"And now she follows you?"

"It would seem so. What is your name, by the way? I am afraid to say that I cannot recall you."

"I would not expect you to. I was never important and was young when you disappeared; you would never have even known that I existed. My name is Amarat."

"Well, Amarat, tell me this; do you expect anything from me now that I have returned?"

Amarat contemplated this while he wetted his head again. "I expect that you will go for power…leadership…that you will set yourself to ruling Nosgoth once more."

"I will rule, you may count on it."

"I wish you luck. It would be a miracle if you could even take hold of one city let alone the entire land."

"Do not doubt me. I will succeed. I did it before and I shall do it again."

"Please, Kain, do not expect us to back you." Amarat dived and this time stayed down as though he was afraid of punishment for his words. "We cannot fight again. We have spent too long fighting and too long hiding. All we want is a little peace for once."

Kain stood up. "You'll be left in _pieces_ unless you stand up for yourselves."

Amarat had no reply. Kain could just see the shadow of his shape in the gloom of the water. "You are the ones that need luck." He told the Rahabim as he left.

Kain resumed his exploration of the Refuge, passing by room after room of empty dark nothingness until a thin stream of pale light caught his eye; shining out through the cracks at the edge of the door.

Upon entering the room Kain discovered Maddrell perched on the edge of the bed Khila occupied with one hand laid on her forehead. The bat-like vampire had his eyes half closed and had an almost trancelike expression.

"What do you think you are doing, Maddrell?" Kain growled.

Maddrell's eyes swivelled in their sockets to look at him as Kain came forwards, but made no other movements. "So protective." Maddrell whispered with a soft smile "How cute. If I didn't know you better I would say that you have feelings for her."

"You bore me, Maddrell. Just explain."

"Ah, how interesting; I notice that you do not try to _deny_ my words." He sniggered quietly.

"Don't make me repeat myself." Kain warned. His patience was waning and it could be heard in his voice.

"Oh, you're so easy. Alright, calm yourself." He removed his hand and his expression returned to normal. "I was only reading her memories; it's something else I learnt while I was 'away'."

"Why!"

"Shhhp! She isn't really unconscious any more but she is asleep. She needs to rest after that moment of hers. I just wanted to clear up a few last murky areas, see what Dark Gifts she has acquired from you so that we can ensure we don't have any more little accidents."

It was a sound reply and Kain couldn't really find a reason to argue. "So what did you find?"

"Mist form, a variation of Charm, Pyrokinesis, Telekinesis, a kind of Rage, basically anything that you have she has a feeble version of…but…there were two others, two of her own, that I don't believe she even realises are within her, that did not come from you at all. She has had them for quite some time, many years, and they seem to be latent abilities buried in the back of her subconscious that activate only at an instinctive level such as when she is emotionally aroused such as when she is scared, in pain or the like. They seemed to develop due to the situations she was in."

"And what Dark Gifts are these?"

"One of them is a weak form _Hydro_kinesis."

"She can control water?" Possession of such a gift would be a dream…and would make life a whole lot easier.

"To a degree, yes. She seems mainly to only be able to get small amounts to divert its course. She cannot make a river flow uphill but can make trickles and raindrops move aside, get them to avoid touching her. That is how she has survived so many rain tortures; most of the drops missed her because she pushed them away with her thoughts without even realising. If she was ever able to harness that ability, to control it and realise its full potential…well, just think about it…"

Kain had been…and the possibilities were staggering; a vampire that could control and manipulate water…a step closer to utter invulnerability, a step higher than the Rahabim had reached…if only she could activate her ability at will and build on it. "What was the other Gift you found? You said that there were two."

"Yes, I did. Well…I have never heard of anything like this so I cannot put a name to it; only a description. The best way of explaining it is by saying that she has a link to the world of ghosts…she has a slight presence in the realm of the truly dead. Although she cannot leave her body and become an ethereal entity or wraith, she can be influenced by things not of this plane of existence. She can sometimes hear the voices of the damned spirits and every now and again she may have a glimpse of a darker, more twisted world where the dead live on in suffering. There are times, also, when she may be able to see things about people that are otherwise hidden; things that trail their past and affect their future come to her in visual form. Does that make any sense?"

"Yes. How very interesting." _Well, that makes things somewhat clearer._ Now what she had been saying before that he had passed off as semi-insane nonsense actually made some strange sense. Now he thought about it in this new light he was sure he could understand…the voices that had hurt her at the Pillars could well have been the cries of the Guardians, somehow trapped in a torturous purgatory because of the Pillars complete destruction. Also…the two shadows she had said she could see behind him…his own and that of the 'rag man'…perhaps the rag man was Raziel, by his side as he had promised. It was a strangely comforting thought. Then, of course, there was the voice she referred to as 'The Deep'. What was it she had said? '_His circle, he never stops speaking of his bloody circle_'. No,not circle, she didn't mean circle; she meant _Wheel._ 'The Deep's' true identity could only be the Elder God, still squelching away to himself underground after all these years and still trying to incite wars to feed him with souls and turn his Wheel of Fate. It seemed that some things never changed.

"I found some other interesting things whilst I was inside her head too. Absolutely nothing to do with Dark Gifts." Maddrell continued. "I found some facts that have allowed me to put together a theory that might well explain why she appears the way she does"

"…?"

"Why she looks like you."

"Ah. What might this hypothesis be?" he was quite interested to hear it. That fact about Khila had been bugging him for quite some time now and it had, in truth, been the main reason that he had saved her. He had seen his own reflection in her weakened and dying shell and it would have troubled him to leave her behind.

Maddrell rose from where he had sat, the bed gave a protesting wooden groan as his weight was removed, and then he exited the room beckoning for Kain to follow with a casual wave of his claw.

Once they were both outside and the door was closed Maddrell explained. "It is all to do with how the Hylden create new vampires. They don't simply make one pet sire another; they use a complicated process involving Essence."

"Essence?"

"Every creature has Essence. Every time a vampire is sired the Essence is passed on and mutates within the new vampire to become unique to them. The Essence passes from sire to fledgling all the way down the generations. Humans have Essence but with them the Essence of the two parents combines to create a new one for the child, instead of changes in the same duplicated one. It is possible to extract and trace the line of Essence back through the ages and de-mutate it to any time, to any creature it has been through and that is how the Hylden are able to make such weakened vampires. They traced the line of Essence back to a fledgling vampire with limited power that was relatively weak, namely the newborn children of your precious Lieutenants, and then replaced it into a new body after removing any Dark Gifts. Most pet vampires that you see hold the Essence and thus the resemblance of the vampire the Essence was traced to."

"What?"

"Uh…you take a strong vampire from this time now; we'll call him A, extract his Essence and trace it back to one of his weaker great grandsires, B. Now you take B's Essence and put it into body C. C then takes the form of B."

"Then, you mean that by taking another's Essence they _become_ that person?"

"Yes, that is a sufficient way of putting it. Now we come back to the point of all this; Khila. It would seem that she is one big mistake. Essence was extracted from a captured Vetus vampire and then the tracing of the line of Essence was left up to a novice as a kind of work experience. It seems that the novice traced it back too far and didn't notice until it was too late and she was already changing. It was traced straight through the weak fledgling, straight through your Lieutenant son and straight to _your_ Essence."

"Then that would mean…"

"Yes. She is _you_ in all but mind. She is how you would look if you had been born female. The only thing traced Essence cannot change about the new body is its gender. She went from being a normal human girl to being your re-incarnation."

"But this is still only speculation." Kain pointed out.

"No. It is solid facts that I pieced together from the fragments in her head and a few things I have personally seen. I have seen pets being made but never knew why they changed the way they did. Now I know; she supplied the last few missing pieces of the jigsaw."

To be continued…… 

_Authors Note – Ah, here we are at chapter 8. I think it was the longest one yet. Hope you still find it as interesting as when it started and think it's worth reviewing (hmm…I said that last time, didn't I?). 30 reviews, woohoo! I feel so privileged. Ok…where was I?……Oh, right; replying. I shall make this a habit._

Lunatic Pandora 1 – _The reason little explaining happens is because I'm a little foggy on the details myself. I know why he did the ripping of Raz's little winglets but the extinction of all the Razielim…just to piss him off so he'd follow, having no reason to stay…to stop a rebellion from them coz of the execution? Meh, I dunno really, I don't pay enough attention anymore. Bad me! I shall play the games again._

Manus Dei – _Ello again. I won't be getting rid of Maddrell just yet (or ever…I dunno) he's fun. I like writing arguments. The story would be a bit stale without him, methinks. Hmm…maybe Maddrell can be choked, they haven't had a fight in a little while…I like that bit too (returns evil grin). References to other characters…how do you mean exactly?_

Varyssa – _Well, I feel praised. Thank you. Hmm…romance isn't going to be part of the main plot, though they may still become close in a companion sense of the word. But I feel I owe you for always reviewing…so…I'll write you a bonus extra chapter and bung it in once the main story is over…like an optional chapter, nothing to do with the overall plot except characters and location, it's just there if you want it, sort of thing… How's that?_

Darkmaster 2 – _Ooh, haven't seen you in a while. Ta for the review!_

Smoke – _Yay! I love long reviews. Well, what do you think of Khila now? Was it what you were expecting? But, she hasn't given up all of her secrets yet, nor have we seen the last of Maddrell. I like him. He has big ears. Maddrell didn't sire because he didn't want a big clan of Razielim drawing attention to where he was 'hiding' and then once he came back he had his brothers and cousins to look after._

Chicken-Chan – _You talk as though all my characters are nearly naked! There are only 3 and you know it. I'll see you in school._

Selphie Fan – _Whoa, that's a lot of reviewing…(Cheesy grin, yay). Be happy; there is no smooching in this fic. Unless you count the optional chapter I'll do for Varyssa. I hope you come back and review again. It's good to get an overall view of what people think as I go along._

Krimzon – _Killed something in you? That isn't a good thing. Anyway, that aside, there will be more Raz…I have plans…Mwaahaha, yes, I have Plans (with a capital 'P' no less). Ooh, sorry. Went a bit odd there. Yes, more Raz mentioning on the way. May take a while though…_

Windra – _I hate it when I lose stories…think this one's still going ok? I hope you have an easier time finding Blood Omen 1 than some people I know. I got mine easy ages ago but a friend of mine has seen a copy of it go for around £50! Mmm…I love second hand game stores. Praise be to Computer Exchange! (That's where I found a copy of it for £5). Happy shopping._


	9. C 09 Entrance

Chapter Nine

_She _is_ me…can that be right, or is Maddrell only trying to annoy and trick me? But why would he lie about something like this?_

"So, she is a female me?" Kain asked just for confirmation.

"Oh, how many times! Yes, she is _you_! Gmmmh!" the last part of his exclamation was lost and muffled due to Kain's claws being wrapped viciously around his mouth.

"Shhh." Kain reminded him, nodding to the door.

Maddrell sneered through the three thick fingers of bone and then prized them away. "Don't touch me."

"Don't give me reason to." _Good grief, he acts like a child yet he could well be thousands of years older than me…_

"I hate you so much." Maddrell stated as he crossed his arms.

"Maddrell, you greatly try my patience and I would prefer to just silence you…but instead I'll just ask you to spare me a moment…listen…Raziel understood why I did what I did; not at first, I will admit but-"

Maddrell didn't give him time to finish. "I don't care about Raziel to be frank. As far as I am concerned he is just as guilty as you are. He should never have gone to you; he signed his fate and he knew it."

"So you think he should have used his new wings and flown, never to be seen again by his sire, brothers or clan?"

"No, that would have been impossible. Don't you know anything? Those new wings of his were miles too small to carry his weight in flight, he might have glided but that would have been it. And neither did I mean for only him to leave your damnable 'empire'. What I meant was that he should have taken us _all_ out of Nosgoth and as far away from you as vampirically possible. He was so blind, he was so convinced that you would just be somewhat peeved, maybe even angry but he never thought for a second that you might do what you did…tuh, I knew better." He growled. "Oh, can't you just bloody well leave!"

"No, Khila is too useful for me to simply leave behind."

"Fine." He pushed past. "I'll wake the little Kitten myself!" he reached for the door.

Kain predicted that Maddrell's version of 'waking' in his present state of mind would be rather violent and potentially damaging, especially if he focused on the fact that Khila _was_ Kain (to a degree), and so grabbed the Razielim firmly by both arms and yanked him away from the door. He was surprisingly easy to move, seeing as his bones were hollow. It isn't only the size of the wings that count.

"Rghh, get off of me and get out of here."

"I told you before; I am going nowhere until Khila is fit to come with me."

"Fine then, go and find something to occupy your time away from me."

"Such as? All suggestions will be welcomed." He said, still dragging him around and increasing the pressure he put on his limbs, just to prove that if he wanted to he could easily break them.

"Do what you do best; find something simple and complicate it."

"Are you two arguing again?" Khila asked. She was standing in the doorway and was most definitely awake, although there was still a veil of tiredness hanging over her face.

Kain released Maddrell and then had to dodge the blow that was aimed at him. As childish payback he stuck his foot out to trip him up. Maddrell fell flat on his face as intended.

He pushed himself up off the floor snarling and growling like some kind of wild beast. "I'll kill you!" he roared with fervour and leapt at Kain only to find himself tangled in a cloud of mist.

"Stop it!" Maddrell wailed as the mist congregated behind him "Don't do this to me!"

"Do try to calm down." Kain suggested with a disapproving sigh as if it had been Maddrell's own clumsiness that had brought him to his knees. He didn't know why, but being around Maddrell aggravated his usual mood…the Razielim was far too energetic and immature for his own good and it had a habit of rubbing off on the people he was around.

"Shut up! Don't tell me what to do! You can't even control your own temper so how do you propose to control me? What gives you the right to destroy my life just because I have something that you don't! Tell me that!"

"What do you want me to say, Maddrell? Do you want me to tell you that I am sorry, is that it? I have no reason to apologise. I never have and I never shall so silence yourself before I cut your tongue from your mouth."

"It is too _late_ for sorry anyway, you idiot! I want you to _suffer_!"

Kain had had just about had enough trying to match Maddrell at his own game. It was time to show him just who was in charge. He hadn't become an overlord by letting things pass with stoic dismissal. He didn't dare try to get too physically near him as he seemed to have no fear and a man with no fear was a dangerous one indeed. So he did the next best thing; he grabbed him telekinetically by the throat and slammed him into the wall. "You think I haven't! Do you think for a second that I _asked_ for this! I am just as much of a victim as you are, just for different reasons!"

"Don't make me laugh!" to punctuate his statement he attempted to spit but found that Kain tightened his hold so much that all he could manage to produce was a painful hacking sound.

"That is not a nice thing to do." Kain told him earnestly, lifting him further from the floor and pushing him harder into the wall. Just as it seemed he was on the verge of passing out he let him go and he dropped to the floor in a coughing heap.

"Leave me alone!" Maddrell wheezed, rubbing at his throat. "Why did you have to come back and ruin things all over again! Why!"

"What do you mean by that?" Kain demanded.

"We are only just managing to cope as we are, we don't need you messing everything up! We are fine and we'll stay that way if you leave us to it!"

"That is not the impression that I received from Amarat. From his perspective you a barely a step away from suicide."

Maddrell's head hung. "Amarat said that?"

"Loosely. Fifty vampires and that number is falling, am I right?"

Maddrell closed his eyes. "Yes, damn it all."

"Perhaps it is time for you to consider a new course of action, then. It seems obvious to me that all you are doing is starving yourselves to death. Which would you prefer, Maddrell; to possibly die fighting for a better future or to definitely die, rotting slowly in a shadow?"

"When you put it like that it seems so easy…" he said. "But when it comes to _doing_ it…I've done too much fighting and had too many people dependant on me. So many that trusted me and I failed them. I just can't carry that weight any more."

"Then let _me_ bear it."

"Let you bear it…" for a second he seemed ready to agree…and then he exploded. Without warning he bore Kain to the ground, straddled his chest to keep him down, hooded his wings to keep Khila from interfering and attempted to throttle him with his claws. "Are you mad! Do you think for a second that I would let you near them! Never! Do you hear me! Never!"

Maddrell's biggest mistake during this was not making sure that Kain's arms were pinned and he soon realised his error as a fist was driven solidly into his stomach. He was then met by an almighty shove that tossed him halfway down the corridor with a resounding crack as he landed.

Kain rubbed his own now sore neck and picked himself up off the floor. _Well that was unexpected._

But even after that Maddrell wasn't finished. He fixed his dislocated shoulder (due to the impact with the floor) and prepared to charge again.

The feud could have lasted hours if it were not for another of Khila's timely interventions. Her first thought was to scream again but decided not to because she wasn't sure ho the sound would carry against the stone tunnels and if it might end up hurting her. So, instead she rushed behind Maddrell, grabbed his belt and tore it off cloth and all.

The effect was instantaneous; Maddrell yelped and folded his wings in front of himself, everything forgotten.

Khila started giggling and skipped to Kain's side while waving the breechclout manically. "Does this help?" she asked.

"…yes…" he would never have thought of that. It was quite effective though; Maddrell was now far to busy trying to blindly find his way into a room to worry about wanting to kill anyone.

One groping hand located the open door of the room Khila had previously been in, he dashed inside and slammed the door behind him. "I hate you too!" he screeched. "You are so lucky that this room is mine and I have spare things in here!"

While Maddrell re-dressed, Kain was able to calm his boiling temper and check on Khila's condition. "How are you feeling? Not sick or faint?"

"No, I'm fine now thank you. I don't know what came over me, I just felt so tired. Oh, you must think me so pathetic; passing out so easily like that for no reason."

"Do you feel well enough to go on or do you need some more time to rest?"

"I'll survive. Are we going now?"

"As soon as Maddrell is decent and ready to show the way…and isn't trying to kill me."

"Well, if he does, you know what to do to get him to stop." She discarded the torn breechclout. "Are _you_ alright? He hit you quite hard."

"Nothing to worry about. That was rather resourceful of you."

"Thank you. It was all I could think of. Given time I'm sure I could have thought up something a little more imaginative but still, it worked. And I'm glad it did; things could have gotten very embarrassing if it hadn't."

The door was thrown open, slamming against the wall and swinging back to nearly hit an irate but dressed Maddrell in the nose. His sartorial elegance now consisted of a breechclout identical to the one that had been ripped from him.

"Let's go then." he growled, as though every word had to be forced out between clenched teeth. "I want you the hell out of here and if that means I have to help you then so be it."

"Are you mad with me?" Khila asked as he stormed off down the corridor, heading swiftly back to the gate.

"What do _you_ think, Kitten?"

"I'm sorry…but it was for your own good; for your safety and wellbeing."

"Hah!"

Kain followed at a leisurely pace and was content to simply listen to the two of them.

Khila was desperately apologising for stripping him and he was doing his very best to distance himself from her.

Since he had discovered just what and who she was he seemed to be rather avoidant of her.

All three returned to the gate and made their way though another tunnel, this one damp and littered with moss and lichen, after the tunnel came another canyon path that was practically indistinguishable from the ones that had brought them to the Refuge in the first place.

All through this Kain remained quiet while Khila and Maddrell repaired the crack in their newborn friendship.

The pathway eventually opened up revealing the stone sealed mouth of the pipeline in the dry drained pool; the river that had once fed it with stagnant water and allowed access for the Rahabim had been dammed and diverted.

The dry pool ground was dark with sandy silt not unlike millions of minute glassy black beads and flakes of ash. Dead, dying and rotting trees had grown over the pool like an organic and once living roof so that only thin bright streams of moonlight were able to penetrate between the branches and shine through like ghostly spears, each silvery shaft illuminating the dust and small insects in the air within them.

Kain, Khila and Maddrell dropped silently down into the main body of the arid pool and began to cross to the Pipe mouth.

"I can't decide whether I think it is beautiful or ghastly." Kain heard Khila whisper. It was indeed a tough choice to make for it possessed the qualities of a dream space _and_ a nightmare realm.

"Settle for ghastly." Maddrell advised her. "This place is a morgue. No Vetus vampire has been here since the Pipeline was sealed. Hylden warriors trapped dozens of Alukas in the pool whilst it was drained and left them to the sun; it took days for them to die because of how little light can penetrate the trees and there was nothing we could do to save them," his voice was shot with shame, "the most we could do to aid them was to end their suffering."

"You did the right thing." Khila told him.

"I wasn't as simple as that, you have no idea how much it hurt to kill my own cousins and hear them thank me for doing so. None of them deserved that, _I_ didn't deserve that." Now he sounded almost angry.

"Don't presume that just because I have lived my life as a pet that I do not understand the torture you have suffered." Khila replied.

"You only know physical pain, Kitten. You have no concept of the scars that can form on the soul."

"Yes I do." She snapped back, and then she began to rub her claws again. "It was some thirty years ago…I was following Caucahn on a routine inspection of the Workers lodgings in the back of the castle, he rarely let me out of his sight you see…while we were there we saw that one female worker was very ill; terminally ill, but she was also eight and a half months pregnant…Caucahn ordered that the baby be removed from her so that he did not loose _two_ valuable slaves but the workers refused even though he threatened them with death and worse. In the end he turned to me and…" she clutched her claws tight to her chest, "he made me tear the baby out of her with my bare claws. The mother died, of course, but the baby survived and now I see him in the castle and I know that if I had not ripped him from his mother's womb he would not be suffering today. At least all that you did was provide a release for the ones you cared for. I, on the other hand, imprisoned and set an existence of misery for a man because I was too afraid to defy my owner."

Now Kain finally knew why she kept rubbing her claws; she could still feel the blood and could still feel the baby boy kicking and screaming as she pulled him from the woman's swollen belly. It wasn't that she detested the blood…it was that it was a reminder of how weak she was; unable to disobey.

For once Maddrell had nothing to say, no witty retort of clever comeback.

"I know it can't be the same." She said. "But it is similar, at least. Please don't think that you are alone. How many pets do you think have been forced to endure the same things as I? If you would just stop hating Kain for a second you might see what it is that he is trying to do."

The silence that followed was unnerving.

"Perhaps." Kain said to break it. "We can move ourselves from such happy subjects long enough to pursue the task at hand."

"You're right." Khila, turned to face the pipe. "We mustn't be sidetracked."

Kain inspected the bricks that had been piled up to block the entrance in a hurry by human workers. Already the mortar was cracking and falling away. Three good strikes from the Soul Reaver and a well aimed kick saw to it that the bricks fell around him in a thick cloud of dust.

Beyond the brick dust the wide tunnel of the pipeline stretched out before them, an endless black hole of stone and more brickwork. It was impossible to see though the darkness, even with vampiric eyes.

"We have to go in there?" Khila gulped apprehensively.

"Correct."

"Really…but it's so…dark…"

Maddrell began to laugh. "Whoever heard of a _vampire_ that was afraid of the dark?"

Kain ignored him as best he could, with the hope of setting an example for Khila. She didn't need to be made any more nervous than she already was. "Ready?" he asked her.

"I'll never be ready. Are you sure that you memorised the way? If we get lost…oh dear…."

"Just trust me. Are you capable of doing that?"

"Yes." she said quietly "Umm…how am I going to follow you if I can't see you? It will echo in there and I might mistake the sound of your steps and go the wrong way."

He offered her a hand. "Don't let go."

She smiled and took the offered hand in one of her own. "Alright. I'm ready now."

Kain took a moment to look over his shoulder. "Maddrell, you are welcome come with us if you so wish…if you can keep your aggression to yourself for once in your life…"

"I hate tight spaces." Maddrell replied. "Are you, uh, going to come back? _If_ you succeed that is. Not that I give a damn, its just that I want to know if I have to prepare the Refuge for being invaded by you again and if I have to wear armoured underwear." He added as he shot a glare at Khila.

Khila coughed, smiled and rubbed the back of her head with her free hand. "I'm still sorry about that."

"Just get going, will you?" He grumbled, trying to forget.

And so it was that they parted company on awkward but amusing terms.

Maddrell took to the heavens, kicking up a whirlwind of silt and dirt as he went; his great wide wings slamming against the air as though he was daring the sky to stop him.

"Shall we then?" Kain made an elaborate gesture to the pipe mouth as soon as Maddrell was out of sight.

"Well, there is no time like the present." Khila said, nodding.

_Yes. _He agreed mentally. _No time_ except _the present. All other options have been eradicated._

The further they journeyed down the tunnels, the more profound the crushing sensation of claustrophobia became; even Kain could feel it and could also feel Khila clinging hold of him even tighter though her own fear.

Though they could no longer see them, the rounded walls seemed to be tightening around them.

Each footstep echoed heavily no matter how lightly they trod and it seemed that the echoes would never die away, more likely they would just fade and quieten and travel on forever ahead of them, never disappearing completely…and what would they do if that happened to _them_? What if Kain missed a turning and led them the wrong way and they ended up wandering forever until they died of starvation? Where would the bats go if Kain's blood hunger became too great? And Khila…would her body just lie here in the dark, lost and forgotten with only the echoes to mourn her passing?

It didn't bear thinking about; Kain pushed it from his mind and focused on the tunnel map he had fixed in his head. _I know exactly where I am going. _He told himself. _My hand has been on the wall all this time so I _know_ that I haven't missed a turning. Ah, and here is the next one. _Again he dragged Khila around another unseen corner in the ink black darkness.

The cold in the tunnels was piercing and scraped across his skin like fresh ice, almost cold enough to leave flesh raw. Cold was not the right description, it was more like ice fire. Any human down there would have died of frostbite, hypothermia and cold burns all at the same time.

Though he knew where he was going, could see the route in his head, could see how far they had come and how far they had left to go Kain still felt as though all that was happening was that they were going in many small circles that made up one big circle. After a while it seemed as though the tunnel was pulling them along, not physically of course but in some way it seemed as though the darkness and the echoes were guiding their steps. It was as though something was agreeing with their intentions and encouraging them to continue, gently pulling them along.

There was no light to mark their exit but Kain knew that it would be heralded by the tunnel coming to a stop. His hand touched the wall ahead. The exit was just above his head; more rotten bricks if he was lucky, thick iron bars if he wasn't.

He drew the Reaver and probed upwards with it. Disturbed brick dust fell over his upturned face.

It was an awkward job that involved a lot of reaching and jumping but eventually he managed to knock the bricks out of place. On the down side, most of them hit him on the head but at least the way out was clear.

Even with the bricks gone no light came through. Just as Khila had said, the pipeline opened out into an abandoned chamber and thus there was nothing to illuminate it. They climbed up and then were truly walking blind.

They headed straight forwards, climbed upward some more (presumably out of the dry pit/pool area) and then kept walking until they encountered another wall which Kain followed with one hand until the stone gave way to wood; the door out…hopefully.

He snaked his hand down, following the grain, until his claws brushed the handle.

The door creaked open on rusted hinges and what he guessed was the corridor beyond was just as black as the tunnel but thankfully warmer.

Kain felt Khila pulling him forwards. "Where are you going?" He whispered.

"I know the layout of the castle." She replied quietly. "This cellar should have the same layout as the ground floor and that means I should be able to get us out of here; I know this place like the back of my hand."

"Lead the way."

After a good few minutes, several turns and winding staircase later, light returned to them and the interior of the castle opened up before them.

_To be continued…_

_Author's Note – Finally! Getting rid of Maddrell should stop the major part of the OOCness. I didn't realise how silly it was getting…sorry. I'll try harder from now on and will go back at some point to re-do old chapters. This update was late because of coursework. On my profile page you'll now find update estimates as well as my drabble._

_A Short Note On Essence For Everyone – a lot of you seem to be getting the wrong end of the stick. Try to think of Essence tracing like you would trace back a family tree. To get Melchiah you would have to trace through a Melchahim ect ect. Also; once Essence is 'de-mutated' to any stage in the line the previous stages mean nothing and are not retained. The host body the essence is put in becomes a clone (negating gender, of course)._

_Anyways…_

Smoke – _Woah, that's a lot of thoughts…Khila's own abilities have nothing to do with Essence (see above note) they were merely developed due to the situations she was in. She lived constantly on the brink of death and so obtained a presence in the Spectral Realm. The hydrokinesis is down to the water tortures._

Aleks – _I'm sorry I've not been e-mailing! Soooo sorry! I feel all rude…I'm glad your still reading._

Windra – _Yay! Back again! Khila is less of a daughter and more of an identical twin sister._

Lunatic Pandora 1 - _…mmm…that is quite creepy now I think of it. And funny too in away…tee hee._

Varyssa – _Sorry but I had to ditch Maddrell…he spawns too much OOCness. He'll probably be back but I doubt it will be till the end or something._

Biohazard – _No, I'm pretty sure the Hylden are not hydrophobic. Maddrell would never betray Kain. Sure, he hates his guts but he hates the Hylden even more than that. He would never do anything to help the Hylden even to save the Vetus. He's convinced he and the Vetus are doomed anyway._

Selphie Fan – _I'm a penny! Woohoo! I've never been a penny before. Heehee._

Raiden-sama – _the OOCness will be eventually cut out. Well…there haven't been many 'edifices'…also, I've never been good at monologueing. Well have to see what changes my brain can throw at me in the future and I'll re-post chapters. If you have any ideas feel free to throw them at me._

Eye Of Apocalypse – _See note. Vorador would not be possible and Janos would only happen if you could trace through the Heart of Darkness…guess you could as that was what made Kain…Hnh…yeah…and as for Janos, I presume that after he gets possessed in Defiance he gets taken to fuel the Mass in BO2 and when he got thrown into the Hylden Gate in BO2 I assume the Hylden down there would have killed him…I could be all wrong but that's what I'm basing things on. He won't be appearing. Sorry._

J martinz – _There you go; Kain TK'd Maddrell. Mwaahahaha. I could have made it better but I was pressed for time._


	10. C 10 Release

Chapter Ten

Like the manor house of Lorfae, Caucahn's castle was of an older and more familiar style, although was integrated with Hylden art and architecture where it seemed acceptable.

Warm candles burned rather than harsh Glyph powered lights in niches in the walls and they cast their light over polished woods of varying shades and thick pile carpets.

Portraits of noble looking Hylden glared down contemptuously at the two intruding vampires between other paintings and elegant marble busts and statues.

The warmth within the castle was a far cry from the bitter cold of the tunnels and the canyons of the Wild Lands, which Kain wished he had not left…the warmth of the place seemed to be creating a false comfort as if to bring down his guard.

"Have you any idea where Caucahn may be?" Kain asked Khila, trying hard to be quiet and being thankful that the carpets were muffling his heavy footfalls.

"He should only have just arrived back here…he could be anywhere." She replied.

"That isn't the most useful of things you've told me thus far."

"It is quite probable that he has gone to his library. Recently he has developed quite a fondness for books."

"Well, we'll try there first then." _At least it's a start._

"It's this way, follow me."

"That was rather my intention."

A smile flitted over Khila's lips before she turned and showed the way.

There was something distinctly worrying about the whole situation. The castle was far too quiet for Kain's liking. It is a strange thing to say but there are different kinds of silence. This one was the kind of carefully created, full silence that might be produced by a conspiracy of some kind…as though it was a _deliberate_ silence.

"Something is not right." he said, stopping Khila by raising his arm in front of her, "I can feel it."

She tilted her head down and listened to the quiet. "You're right, it's like something's missing. Do you think they're expecting us?"

"It feels like a trap."

"Are we going to walk into it?"

"Yes." he said with a firm nod.

"I hope you know what you are doing."

"Just carry on the way you were going, but be a little more careful about it. Just because we are heading for a possible trap it doesn't mean we can get careless."

The castle was a labyrinth of wood and stone, and though it was lavish and extravagant there was no denying the purpose for which it had been originally built; to be an impenetrable fortress during the times of war in ages long since past.

The windows were all coldly practical arrow slits from which archers could take their places and do their part to take down an advancing enemy. Any weaponry on the walls were not just for show; some swords and battle axes, though razor sharp, had dents in their blades as signs of use and Khila could have told him about the murder holes above the castles entrance…yet another grizzly defence. There was no doubt that the castle's use was always in the architect's mind. However, changing fashion had added to it and so had times of peace…so though still practical, it would not be terribly _efficient._

Kain kept his senses open to all input, suspicious of every door, shadow and turn.

As they reached a new stretch of corridor he could have sworn he heard a noise not unlike a sharp intake of breath.

Again he had Khila stop and signalled for her silence by raising one claw to his lips, then he waved his hand in a motion that indicated she should remain where she was.

Making less noise than a falling down feather he crept forwards to one overly large bookcase, the shadow cast by which had a rather humanoid shape to it.

After a brief pause he mist dodged around the bookcase to greet the unsuccessful lurker with the Reaver drawn.

Jor screamed as he saw soul stealing death reaching for him.

Kain's hand slammed against Jor's mouth to silence him and with his other hand gestured with the Reaver for Khila to come forward.

"Be quiet." Kain told Jor.

The vampire obeyed, as was expected.

"You know, Kain…" Khila said, "You really shouldn't have surprised him."

"What?" It was then that Kain noticed the unfortunate dark stain spreading across the crotch of Jor's trousers.

Kain couldn't help but pull a face and take a step away after rapidly releasing Jor.

"I have a weak bladder." Jor whimpered to excuse his accident. "Especially when it comes to near death experiences."

"Jor, why are you hiding here?" Khila asked.

"My Lady Lorfae and Lord Caucahn told me to hide if I should see you. She told me to stay out of sight and keep quiet…oh no! I spoke!"

"Keep your voice down." Kain warned. "Now, what is going on here? Caucahn knows that I am coming for him?"

"He has an idea." Jor squeaked. "He knows that you have returned from death and that you have his pet with you, so his first thoughts were that you would come for him."

"So he _is_ expecting me."

"Yes, he…he had a feeling you would come tonight or tomorrow; he knows that you came to my Lady's home and that you ventured into the Wild Lands…it did not take my Lord long to come to the conclusion that his pet would suggest to you the use of the pipe lines, that she witnessed being sealed some fifty or so years ago, to reach him. That is why he ordered the door to the pool room be unlocked."  
"I knew it shouldn't have been this easy." Khila sighed.

"So, Jor," Kain continued, "tell me where Caucahn is and what he has planned."

"He…I…I…I won't say!" Jor wailed almost mournfully.

"Yes you will." Kain told him, letting the wickedly sharp tip of the Reaver blade hover uncomfortably close to the poor pet's eyes. "Unless, of course, you wish to learn how to cope with only four senses." He didn't like to threaten a pet vampire, especially now he knew that they were clones of people he may have known, but it seemed the only way to get things done.

"He's in the library waiting with guards to ambush you because he thought his pet would take you there! I value my sight, please take that point away!"

"Damn it man, be quiet." Kain growled and did as requested.

"I'm so sorry." Jor whispered, although his quiet voice was still shrill with fear.

"You were right about the trap, then." Khila commented. "He knew we would do this…I suppose it doesn't take a genius to work it out."

"Hnh…alright, let's keep going as before. Oh, and Jor?" Kain said.

"Yes?" Jor replied.

"You will be accompanying us."

"Eh!" Jor's eyes managed to widen even further than they already had.

Another rare and almost disturbing smile manifested itself on Kain's face. "Come now, what is there to be afraid of?"

"You." Jor said as Khila patted his shoulder and took point again. "I am going to die…"

"Do stop being so fatalistic." Khila told him. "It's depressing.

"It suits my mood, leave me alone."

Door after door opened silently before them, leading further into the depths of the castle. Just like the tunnels, these brightly lit corridors seemed to almost be inviting them forwards.

Kain kept the Reaver drawn so that if Jor looked ready to complain he could thrust it menacingly in his direction.

"This is bullying." Jor grumbled.

"No," Kain replied, "I prefer to think of it as attitude adjusting."

After the passing of additional fruitless minutes Khila showed Kain and Jor through a large room, with an upper glallery accessible via a winding metal staircase. The room appeared to be dedicated to past events.

The walls were adorned with tapestries and paintings depicting scenes of war with Hylden warriors dominating the battlefields. The ceiling was a fresco of triumphant Hylden figures standing over defeated ancients and more familiar vampires alike and the floor…the floor was one huge mosaic showing the Hylden's full conquest of Nosgoth at the centre of which was an image of Kain himself being put to death by the Reaver.

"After I have killed Caucahn," Kain began as he paused at the bottom of the stairs as Jor and Khila made their way up, "The first thing I am going to do is personally demolish this room, starting with that floor."

"I'll help." Khila said brightly.

A sound then caught Kain's undivided attention…an electric buzzing noise mixed with a faint humming.

Before he could locate the source an arrow struck his back, the tip buried itself deep in his flesh and a boiling surge of sharp paralysing pain exploded through his body. The Reaver slipped from his twitching claws and he fell to the ground as his knees buckled underneath him.

"Kain!" Khila yelled out and was about to run back down the stairs when Jor grabbed her tight around her middle, pinning her arms to her sides and bearing her to the floor of the gallery.

"I'm sorry!" he screeched at her. "I'm so sorry! I had no choice…I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he then clamped a hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming.

Khila struggled and kicked but Jor held on regardless.

Back down the stairs, Kain lay sprawled on the floor in agony. The arrow in his back was ten times worse than Moebius' staff…he tried to reach behind him to pull the arrow out but his hand and arm were shaking too hard to be of any use to him.

From a side door that had been hidden by shadow, Lorfae emerged with a longbow in her hands.

"Easier than I could ever have dreamed." She said as she came towards the prone vampire lord. "How amusing; you'll die on a floor depicting your death." she barked out a grating high pitched chuckle.

Like her manor house, Lorfae's clothes emulated older fashions. Her rich dark blue velvet dress fell to her ankles and had a basque that could create a descent bust on even the flattest of chests. Jewellery, however, did not appear to be something she was fond of except for a heavy silver and emerald amulet around her neck that glowed slightly.

She stepped over Kain's reaching hand, dropped her bow and took up the Soul Reaver he had been trying to grasp. "Now, tell me this, vampire; how in the name of the exile are you here and how can you have this sword when I know that Caucahn also has it with him right this very second. Did you use a time device? Tell me, vampire."

Kain's teeth clamped together against the pain while his face contorted into one of his many expressions of rage.

"Tell me." Lorfae repeated. "Are you deaf?"

Again, Kain said nothing.

"Fool." She said disdainfully. "This time, just to make sure that you _stay_ dead, I'll suggest to Caucahn to have your head and body separately cremated and then the ashes scattered across the sea. That should keep you where you belong."

She paced to the bottom of the stairs and back again. "Well, Jor, it seems you have a use after all."

_Traitor_. The word burned coldly in Kain's mind. "Traitor!"

On the balcony, Jor heard the strained cry. "Why say that, what did I do? I did what was right…."

Khila, who was still wriggling in his arms bit down hard on the flesh between Jor's claws until he let go of her.

"How could you!" she screamed, wheeling around to face him. "You _knew_!"

"I had no choice; it was do this or die!"

"You let us walk straight into her…you didn't say a word!"

"I know! I'm sorry…but you never asked me to say…"

"Do you know what you've done! Do you realise what is going to happen now! Kain is going to be killed unless a miracle happens and Caucahn will take me back! I can't go back, I wont! Damn you, I'd rather die than be a toy for his games again! I won't have that sick freak near me again, do you hear?"

"No, no, no…Lorfae said that she would let you go, she said that all I had to do was make sure that Kain came here and she would allow you safe passage into the Wild Lands."

"And you believed her!"

"She is my owner, my Lady, I _have _to."

"How could you trade in Kain's life!"

"Lorfae told me to!" he clamped his hands over his ears.

Khila scrambled to the edge of the gallery and peered between the bars of the edge barrier.

Lorfae seemed to be thinking, looking thoughtfully at the Soul Reaver she held in her hands. "What shall be done with this?" she asked herself out loud.

"Gi-ive….I-I-It-tt…back-k-k-k." Kain growled through his firmly clenched teeth.

"I think not." Lorfae knelt beside him, took hold of the arrow shaft and started twisting it.

A new shock of pain ran over his nerves. He had to do something…_anything_!

On the gallery the arguments continued.

"Jor, I'll never forgive you for this, even after death you will hear me screaming 'Traitor' for the rest of your rotten life." Khila growled.

Jor now had his arms wrapped around his chest as though to comfort himself. "I've only done what she told me to do; it is my duty to serve her…" His eyes suddenly looked pleading as he stared straight into Khila's "When I was chosen and made I was told 'Serve and your life shall have meaning.' So that is what I do. She told me to do it so I did…that's right, isn't it?"

"Do you really have to ask? Jor, they told me the same thing but I've questioned every single second of my life."

"I'm sorry, Khila."

"…you've never called me by my name before...Jor?"

"I'm a fool and a traitor and I know it. I couldn't stop myself…but I _wanted _to, more than anything in the world. She told me to find you…but I tried to hide when I saw you coming, tried to pretend that I couldn't find you. But you found me and I was too stupid to say anything."

Khila resisted the sudden urge to hit him and instead looked on…after all, Jor was only a pet…servitude was all he had ever known; the poor creature was incapable of making his own decisions.

Lorfae was beginning to enjoy herself far too much.

"We shall have so much fun." Lorfae said as she continued to twist the arrow.

"No…we…shan't!" and with those defiant words spat out in a grunt of anguish Kain pulled himself sharply away from her.

Her hand was tight to the arrow shaft and as he yanked himself away she inadvertently jerked the arrow free.

"Noooo!" Lorfae screeched in fury as Kain rose to his feet.

He lunged for the Reaver but she was prepared for such a move and struck out with the blade.

He had no choice but to dodge.

Relatively safe again he hit her hard with a telekinetic shot. It knocked her off balance and he attacked…however she brought the Reaver into play again.

He repeated his method and every time he managed to get a little closer to her. Unfortunately, just as he was getting the hang of things Lorfae got the hang of the Reaver…and worked out how to channel her own slight magical ability through the Reaver.

The blast from the Reaver hurled Kain across the floor; he rolled and came to a halt when he slammed into the wall. As he climbed back to his feet again, he managed to mist-dodge the next attack and start trying to get close enough to Lorfae to commence his own attacks again. But using telekinetic bolts just wasn't helping anymore. As well as this, Lorfae had protection from his Dark Gifts; they were cancelled out by the amulet she wore…yet another Glyph based vampire-control method the Hylden had created. The only reason his telekinesis worked was because she still felt some of its impact, just not its full force and power.

Jor watched and winced in sympathy as Kain was hit yet again. "He'll never get close enough to do any damage whilst she can use the Reaver."

"Really? I hadn't thought of that." she said and then punched him neatly in the small of his back. "If you cannot say anything useful, do not say anything at all."

He yelped in pain but soon learned the value of silence.

They continued to watch.

"We must do _something_!" Khila exclaimed. "He's going to be killed!"

"Oh I reckon he's used to it. He _has_ died two or three times already." He was rewarded with another punch for his statement.

"Stop being so childish! This is deadly serious…maybe we could catch her attention in someway; provide a distraction that would allow Kain a chance to reach her."

"We wouldn't last five seconds, Khila. Oh, why did he have to come up with such a _stupid _idea?"

Khila grabbed his shirt front and pulled him forwards until their noses were nearly touching. "You snivelling coward, this is _your_ fault so don't you dare try to pass the blame!"

"Be that as it may it was still _his_ decision to come to the castle. It was he who came up with this suicidal scheme and thus if he hadn't thought of it I would have nothing to be a traitor for."

"You bastard!"

"But a _truthful_ bastard. I tried to stay hidden from you but you had to go and find me…and you had to make me go with you…it isn't all my fault."

Khila turned away from him and snuggled up against the barrier, watching the rather one sided fight.

"We just need to prevent her from using it…just for a moment."

Jor peered over the rail beside her with his claws curled over the bar and little more than his eyes showing above them.

Kain was holding his ground surprisingly well but it could not stay that way forever.

Something had to be done.

Now.

"Aright." Jor said. He knew what to do. "I have an idea."

"Well there is a first time for everything."

"I thought that this wasn't the time for jokes."

"You're right, I'm sorry. So, what did you have in mind?"

He stood up. "First we need to get off this balcony and down to the floor, after that you just do as I say and don't question me."

"That sounds very stupid coming from you, traitor."

"Just trust me, Khila." He looked to the walls and then selected a wide bladed knife from a collection there. He then handed it out to her.

"What is this for?"

"Take it."

She did, though somewhat grudgingly and then together they ran towards and down the stairs where they watched the fight progress from the shadows of the stairwell…if 'progress' was the right word for the mess that the battle was becoming. Kain was growing weaker and tiring whilst Lorfae needed to expend little energy to keep him at bay with the stolen Soul Reaver's unique abilities and her amulets protection.

Jor placed one hand on Khila's shoulder. "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what? You still haven't told me your plan." she reminded him sharply.

"I know…right…good, now, when the right moment comes all you have to do is run over and kill Lorfae. Just stab her in the heart; that should do the trick."

"What do you mean when you say 'the right moment'? I do not like the sound of that sentence."

"I thought you promised not to question me."

"I said nothing of the sort; you just assumed that I agreed."

"Well that's settled then. You'll know the moment when it arises." He patted her shoulder. "You stay here and I'll disable the Soul Reaver." And with that he began to creep away. "I'm going to make it up to you."

Khila waited and hoped that he knew what he was doing.

She was not prepared for what happened next.

Jor came sprinting out of nowhere towards his owner. She struck out with one hand to knock him aside and still keep the Reaver in play with Kain but found that Jor ducked under her half hearted swipe and somehow got in front of her. He lunged forwards as if to grab her and just as he had expected she raised the Reaver to defend herself.

Just what he wanted.

Instead of grabbing the Hylden he grabbed the blade of the Reaver, pulled it so that it faced him and took a sharp step forwards, forcing it through his own stomach.

As it slid through his body he let out an ear piercing scream and then instantly felt his entire body begin to numb as his soul was leeched away. All the while the Reaver was occupied with devouring his life force it could not be used as a weapon, especially since Jor gripped Lorfae's hands with both claws around the hilt to prevent her from withdrawing it.

With his energy hungrily being drawn out of him he locked eyes with his former owner. "Born…a worker…" he began, every syllable a gasp of agony. "Re-born…a…pet…but…I…I'll die…a free…_vampire._" He struggled with the last few words and tears began to roll freely down his cheeks.

He didn't want to die…but knew it was the only way to make up for his treachery, the only way to prove to Kain and Khila how truly sorry he was. In a small way, it was comforting for him to know that he had finally done something of his own free will and not cared for the consequences of his actions.

Khila screamed as she saw him turn the blade against himself. For a moment her whole body and mind seemed to freeze up and then she remembered the cold steel she held in her hand and the purpose it had…

What occurred next, in truth, took only a few short moments but it felt as though it spanned an eternity.

A cold red wave seemed to wash over Khila's vision and envelope her heart, something changed in her eyes, as though something had just been released deep inside her soul; something old, something _wild_.

The bloodlust rose within her and empowered her with a strength she had never experienced before and as the new rage wrapped itself like unbreakable chains around her thoughts she charged towards Lorfae; her target, her prey.

Lorfae saw her running, saw the bloodlust in her eyes and was paralyzed with ice cold fear. Khila charged straight into her, bearing her to the ground and as she did so Jor released the Hylden's hands and fell aside, blade and all.

With Lorfae now helpless, Khila showed no mercy; she plunged her knife repeatedly into the Hylden's chest and slashed at her flesh until her torso was little more than a shredded mass made of ribbons of clothes and skin, blood and lacerated muscle.

Lorfae screamed out with blood bubbling in her mouth but Khila was not yet finished with her. Next, the lust struck vampire took a tight hold of Lorfae's head and began to smash her skull against the mosaic floor until the tiny tiles shattered and blood began to seep from her victims ears.

Lorfae was still alive, barely; her mouth opened and closed, blood escaped her throat rather than sounds and her whole body was twitching but Khila _still_ wasn't finished. She let out a long loud hiss like an enraged cat, bared her fangs and then bit down hard on the Hylden's windpipe. She jerked her head back, tearing her throat out and spitting away the grizzly section of trachea she had so violently removed. As a final insult she fed on the body in the last few seconds before death.

Kain watched Lorfae's demised with horrified fascination. He had never expected Khila to be capable of such things, she had always been so calm, naïve, almost slightly helpless and the kind of woman you felt obligated to protect. But now…now his female re-incarnation was lost in her lust and as sadistic as a madman. Even though the Hylden female was obviously now dead Khila took up the knife once more and stabbed the corpse over and over again whilst laughing like a little girl.

He took cautious, quiet steps towards her, knelt by her side and snatched the knife from her hand as she raised it again. As she felt it slip from her grasp she wheeled around and slashed at him with her claws. He did not attempt to stop her.

The resulting claw marks on his face took a few seconds to heal. Some sanity seemed to return to her as she realised what she had just done. She looked down at her now bloodstained claws and then up at Kain with an almost mystified expression, as though she didn't quite understand what had occurred. But that didn't occupy her thoughts for long, for then she realised that although she didn't exactly know _what_ had just happened, she did remember _why_ it had happened.

She scrabbled on the ground to stand and then dropped down again when she saw Jor barely a meter away; lying curled, motionless on the floor in a foetal position around the sword that pierced his body. There were still tears on his skin even though he was dead.

Khila covered her face with her claws, regardless of the blood and gore, whilst Kain gently rolled Jor over and reclaimed the Soul Reaver.

"Why did he do it?" he heard Khila whisper.

"I cannot answer that." he replied. Only Jor had possessed that knowledge and now it was too late to ask.

Khila's claws lowered and she clasped them in her lap. "He was always so…so…so obedient. He never said a word against Lorfae no matter what she did to him. In fact, he hardly said anything at all from what I know of him. I know I haven't known him very long at all but…he seemed like a child; he always seemed so lost."

"Perhaps he finally found his way." Jor may have been a traitor…but had made amends, and right now Khila didn't need things made worse by bringing the bad points up.

"You make it sound so poetic," she said, "but there is nothing beautiful about this. He's dead. He killed himself just so we could have a chance at reaching Lorfae. It isn't right, it isn't fair, he could have just walked away; I could see that he wanted to…oh no…no, no, no, no…he did it because of what I said!" she punched the floor and more tiles cracked. "He did it because I called him a coward…" she sniffed.

"There is no point in crying," Kain adjusted his half cloak and began to walk away, "neither is there time." he didn't have the patience for comfort.

"How can you be so _cold_!" she shouted after him.

He made his way up the stairs and paused at the only door on that upper floor, the one they had originally been heading to. "When you have lived as long as I, when you have buried countless good men, friends and family; you'll learn to stop caring, and if you can't…the weight of it all will crush you." He kicked the door open and allowed it to swing closed behind him as he passed though.

After an uncomfortably long silence with only the sound of his own clicking claws on the floor he heard the door open again and then the lighter clicking of Khila's smaller claws as she followed him.

He didn't have time to feel sorry for her, didn't have time to spare a thought for Jor who had thrown himself upon the Reaver blade to aid them and almost as a punishment for his treachery.

He hated himself for being able to discard his emotions so effortlessly, but would never admit it.

"Our best chance is to still head for the library…you don't have to come if you don't want to; you have already done enough, just tell me the way."

"No. I'm coming. You'll get lost without me." She said, passing in front of him.

"Are you sure you will be alright?"

"Yes, so long as you give me the chance to pay Caucahn back for all he's done.."

Kain smiled and nodded. "As long as you need, Khila."

_To be continued……_

_Author's Note – Sheesh, thiswas another longonelong...maybeI should cut the length down.Well how's this then? I tried to make a complete break from the rampant silliness of the Refuge…well except that bit with Jor near the start. Why did I do that? Anyway. Hahaha, Khila go crazy! Had to happen. And out goes another two OC's. Hmm…someone suggested via e-mail that I could do a fic that documented Maddrell's time out of Nosgoth. What do you think? But it would be all OC except the very beginning…bear that in mind._

_Now for the usual - _

Darkmaster2 – _Thank you for reviewing again. It's great to see people coming back._

J martinz – _Again, thanks. It's nice to know I'm getting something right._

Nightmare Man – _I'm afraid that I never left space for EG in the plot. If I added him in it would all get a million times more complex and the 'big exposition' I'm working on now is already a bit hard to understand. He did get a mention as 'The Deep' to prove I hadn't forgotten about him completely but my excuse is that in the Hylden dominated Nosgoth he doesn't have much influence anymore. Maybe I can do a bonus chapter with him in or something like I'm doing for Varyssa._

Biohazard – _Yeah, I'm happy he's out of the way too. He's kina hard to write as he's got two sides to him; the protective warrior side and the complete and utter twat side. There you go; mindless violence. Happy?_

Varyssa – _Glad you liked it…it just came to me. Anyway. I've started attempting some pieces for this romance chapter I promised you but I'm not happy with any at the moment. I'll get there in the end but it may take time and won't be posted 'till the story is over._

Smoke – _I usually never write anything unless it has links to plot or back history. I'm a bit pedantic when it comes to that, though I do sometimes forget I've done things spur-of-the-moment 'coz they sounded good at the time. Kain didn't forget the Light spell…I just forgot to mention so. He couldn't use it because the pipeline is connected to others that lead to other openings. People would get highly suspicious if bright light suddenly poured out of an abandoned tunnel. Oh, the Skeleton…you'll just have to wait…but I really don't think that it's what you're thinking of._

gryps incedio – _Thanks for taking the time to review. I hope to cut out the childishness out at some point. I never planned it…it just kinda happened._

Manus Dei – _Hehehe, that's what I was planning. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought 'Darth Vader' when I saw that cut scene._


	11. C 11 Displays

Chapter Eleven

"Caucahn will most likely still be waiting for us. I get the feeling that he wouldn't have expected Lorfae to succeed if her whole plan rested on that one arrow." Khila said as they passed through more corridors and halls.

The pictures and statues were really beginning to get on Kain's nerves. He felt like breaking something on general principals. "How far is it to the library?"

"Not far now; we just go up the next set of stairs, along the corridor after then through the private museum and it's along the hall just after."

"Splendid."

"Sarcasm?"

"Just a little, yes."

"It feels so wrong…"

"What, my being sarcastic?"

"No, not that. Nothing to do with that. I meant Jor; just leaving him all curled up on the floor like that, covered in his own blood and still with his muzzle on…it isn't right."

"I'm not going to stop to bury him, there is too much happening now."

"Still feels wrong…"

"After this is done with we'll do things properly for him, does that make you happy?"

Khila looked over her shoulder at him. "So you _can_ care."

"When it suits me."

"I need to thank you for so much but I don't know how." She said sincerely. "You freed me, kept me safe, comforted me, put up with me and my crazy self…I don't know how to pay you back…I owe you my life and more."

Kain considered what she was saying. "All I want from you is a promise that no matter what happens you will keep yourself alive. Jor…Jor did what he did as a penance for his betrayal. He righted his own wrong, but you have no need to do that. Don't die on me." _If you're anything like I am it will take one hell of a lot to finish you off but still…we've lived in different worlds…_

"I think I can do that," she told him, "but don't expect me to be brave; it doesn't come naturally to a slave."

_Not brave…Khila, don't make me laugh…anyone else could have had a nervous breakdown because of what you've been through._ "I know you'll do what you can and that is enough."

That brought another smile to Khila. Kain couldn't help but wonder if, before they met, she had ever had the opportunity to smile at all.

_More bloody stairs…_

They had to be near the roof just because of the amount of stairs they had wound their way up…

_Another door…where does this one go? _He thought to himself as Khila leaned an ear against it to check for movement beyond.

She seemed satisfied that it was empty but was still very cautious as she slowly swung it open. She realised that Kain seemed to have noticed the change in her attitude towards moving onwards. She had never checked the doors before now.

"We are close to the library now…so he may be people around." She told him. "And sometimes there are people in this room besides Caucahn."

The open door revealed Caucahn's private collection, the contents of which had once filled much of the Pillars museum.

A lot of it was yet more statues and portraits of Hylden but there were things that Kain was able to recognise.

There were stones and wall sculptures that were once apart of the old Hylden city…fragments of the catacombs that had one surrounded the Device...even a piece of the Mass itself, preserved in a tank of formaldehyde.

The huge room was stuffed full of items and other grizzly relics…among the other pickled exhibitions were the children of Kain's sons…the fathers of the Vetus vampires…

"This is…there is no word for this…" he passed by each tank, disgusted and shaking his head as each wrinkled, colourless corpse came into his vision.

"I know." Khila said. "You recognise them?"

"Yes…but I wish I didn't…"

He wanted to just pass this room…he wanted Khila to lead him out of it with his eyes closed. He couldn't bear to see all of these stolen portions of memory…little pieces of past on display. They were kept here as trophies…vampire corpses…so much just left in this room to be looked at…not so much as in preservation of past events, but almost as though to mock it. He had the same feeling for that sickening museum room that Khila had for leaving the body of Jor behind.

Along with the flesh exhibits there were other things he knew, things that tugged at his emotions and evoked feelings of sorrow uncommon to him…he recognised stained glass from the Ruined City that Dumah had taken as his own…a gargoyle from the Drowned Abbey…a gates and metalwork from the Necropolis…a bell from the Silenced Cathedral…an example of every symbol emblazoned flag from the Sanctuary of the Clans…the golden cauldron from deep within the Oracles Caves before the mountain had been levelled…cogs from the giant clockwork mechanism that had also been there…a collection of spears from different clan areas…human vampire hunter crossbows and flame throwers…examples of clothing, both vampire and human…and there…in the centre of the hall…

Kain gazed at the central exhibit, a prized possession, locked in its glass case with a small copper plaque stating – 'The Skeleton of the Abomination'.

He gasped. "They…kept me."

Could it be? His own bones? The skull…so recognisable…

"But why?..."

"I don't know." Khila said, standing beside him. "But Caucahn was very pleased when he found that his bid for it had been accepted."

"Bid?..."

"Yes, nearly every Hylden wanted to own this piece…you…I guess that you hold more significance to them that they let on."

"They _auctioned _me?"

"Yes."

"I can't believe this…" he said as he stared, mesmerised, into his own empty eye sockets. The skull still seemed to carry his perpetual frown.

His hand, almost subconsciously, reached out and touched the class with a click as his claws connected. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, firstly, because you didn't ask and secondly, because it didn't seem important…but you knew all along, didn't you? I saw you staring hard at that paper in the attic space of the old museum."

"I had a feeling, but I never really thought that it would be like this…"

He looked down at the second item within the glass case; a card on which was an image of himself before his execution…a somewhat _edited_ picture.

Though the small painting was undeniably him it was a version of 'him' that he was unfamiliar with. They had taken the vampiric side of him and given it a visual twist, emphasising it. He was depicted in his present state of evolution but they had made him appear slimmer, with a thinner face and a mass of scarring on his chest. His clothes were torn and ripped in a dozen places and his chin, neck and chest were stained with old blood while his blood matted hair whipped in the painted wind. His eyes seemed to burn with a primal, animal bloodlust that was far from the truth. The creature they depicted was nothing more than a monster, ruled by its desires and with barely a shred of comprehension of the world around him. He was depicted standing over human, Hylden and _vampire_ victims, as though his rage was uncontrollable and permanent, as though he had no distinction between friend and foe…mindless…desperate…

"_That_ is not me…that was never me…" he sounded as though he was trying to reassure himself. Was this truly how he appeared to others? A wild animal? No, that couldn't be right…Yes, there were times when his lust got the better of him and he couldn't deny that there were times that the suffering of others brought him thrills but he was no _animal_…surely… "That can't be right…"

Behind him Khila picked up what appeared to be a decorated stone of Hylden origin, she tested its weight by tossing it in the air a couple of times, aimed it and then threw hard it at the lower right corner of the glass case.

The entire case shattered with an almighty crash, leaving only the metal frame and contents in tact.

Kain lowered his arm which he had raised to protect his eyes from falling shards while he took a dash backwards.

"What was the meaning of that!" he exclaimed.

She then crossed over, claws crunching the glass underfoot and snatched the small painting up out of a pile of glass. She tore it into quarters and then held it out in her open hand. "Rubbish." She said and then closed her fist around it. "Not a shred of truth in a single brush stroke." She opened her hand and it fell to the floor.

"Smashing the case wasn't such a bright idea, Khila. People will probably have heard."

"Oh…sorry…I wasn't thinking…"

"Not to worry." He assured her, and gave his skeleton a final glance…the skull drawing his eye. "It's time we carried on."

After the quiet emptiness of the rest of the castle the next hall after the private collection came as one hell of a surprise to both of them.

There was a small army of blade arm Hylden warriors waiting for them as they stepped through the doors into the wood panelled meeting hall.

As the door clicked closed behind them the Hylden all flexed into fighting stances; ready for the attack.

Beside him, Kain heard Khila gasp. "Caucahn!"

At the very back of the great hall was the elusive Hylden himself, the ruler of the city and Khila's former owner. He stood at just above average height, dressed in a suit of polished armour and was flanked by his four best guards. The five of them all wore the same anti-Dark Gift amulets that Lorfae had had. In Caucahn's hands was the infamous weapon of the ages; the Soul Reaver.

With lips skinned back from bony chisel teeth Caucahn spoke. "Kain, I presume?"

"Correct." Kain called back over the heads of the warriors.

"Have you come to return my property? You seem to be in possession of _my_ pet."

"No, I am in possession of no pets. I have, however, acquired a companion if Khila is whom you refer to."

"I do not care how you decide to address it, that pet belongs to me. Bought and paid for." Somehow Caucahn's lipless mouth managed a sick, twisted smile. "Although _why_ I am conversing with Vetus filth such as you I don't know."

Caucahn clicked his skeletal fingers and the Hylden warriors prepared to make their attack

Kain heard the door behind him being bolted from the other side…and it was only them that he realised that they were indeed on the top floor of the castle. For a moment he scolded himself for allowing such a pointless commentary to pass through his thoughts but then realised _why_ he knew that seemingly useless fact.

This room had a stained glass roof though which could be seen the great silver disc that was the nights moon.

"Khila," He said quietly, "I need you to scream for me."

"Why?"

He nodded to the ceiling. "Do you think you can reach that pitch?"

"I will try my hardest." She promised and drew in a lungful of air while Kain did his best with his claws to protect his hearing.

The scream rang out as true and as strong as the one in the canyon but this time with a little added force behind it; the force of true purpose.

As soon as it began a useful effect was achieved, the same pain that had blazed through Kain and Maddrell was now assaulting the eardrums and every Hylden present.

But unlike before; it did not stop there…the pitch began to grow higher as Khila doubled over with the strain.

Cracks began to slither across the glass as the Hylden squirmed and then, with an echoing smashing that seemed to last an eternity, the entire glass centre of the ceiling shattered.

Khila gratefully stopped screaming as Kain grabbed her middle and pulled her out of the way of the falling razor sharp shard.

The Hylden, however, were now so fortunate as to have someone to drag them to safety. The broken glass rained down like serrated bullets and sharpened blades, lacerating skin and burying deep into Hylden flesh. They hollered and screeched in disorientation, distress and pain as they tried to hold their wounds together. Slit arteries spewed out blood at a shocking rate across the floor, making it slick enough in places to cause Khila's careless victims to fall back on the shard scattered varnished wood causing yet more glass to be driven into their backs.

Moonlight glinted uncaringly on blood-spattered glass while pleas and screams echoed into the cold night.

Caucahn, unfortunately, had been out of harms reach as he had backed up against the far wall along with his bodyguards.

"Do you think that will be enough!" he roared and then snapped out an order to his wounded fellows. Those who were not bleeding to death or hadn't had vital tendons slit were doing their best to clear the floor.

Kain sniffed disapprovingly and began a short nonchalant walk to the centre of the hall after whispering "Stay here." to Khila.

He strolled into the very centre, kicking glass aside and then waiting with his arms folded across his broad chest…a contented, _knowing_, smile washing over him. Smiles made by Kain were generally things to watch out for.

With a single hand gesture Caucahn had his able guards surround Kain.

Yet…Kain did nothing…that was something else to watch out for…

"What are you playing at, Kain?" Caucahn called.

"_My _game." Kain called back. "My game with my rules and my rules say that _I_ win."

"Win! Pah! How, when you are surrounded and when I have countless more loyal warriors waiting to rush here, ready to die protecting Nosgoth from filthy cancers such as you."

"Any fool can die for a cause, Hylden. It is only those with the will to succeed and survive at all costs who matter." He tilted his head back and turned his eyes to the glinting diamond stars past the shattered glass. He seemed satisfied. "I think this will qualify as outside, don't you?"

In one swift motion he unfolded his arms and raised his claws to the sky. An aura of pale blue light flickered into life around them and the sky suddenly became filled with dark cloud and thunder. A cold blast of electric energy flared invisibly from deep within him and then without a second's warning spears of lightning erupted out and shot down around him from the clouds high above. Every Hylden under the shattered roof was struck and the lightning burned, scorched and disintegrated all that it touched.

As the Hylden again tried in vain to run, Kain could be heard at the centre of it all laughing the legend - "He shall come when the moon is full and learn to call death from the sky!"

The barrage of lightning strikes ended, leaving the floor littered with smouldering corpses and the hall smothered in the thick stench of burnt flesh and boiled blood.

The only survivors were Caucahn, his four flanking guards, Kain and Khila.

"And how many times can you do that? How long can you keep it up?" Caucahn asked. "You will run out of magic eventually and all I have to do is stay sheltered to avoid it."

"Where are these other suicidal guards that you promised me, Hylden?" Kain sounded almost disappointed.

"They will be here as soon as they are called!" Unlike Kain, Caucahn sounded as though he had not planned for this in the slightest and didn't have anything even resembling patience within him. "Go!"

With that single word the four personal guards sprang into action.

Slowly Kain drew the Soul Reaver, waiting for the first move. The keen blade hummed in anticipation of the souls it lounged to consume.

The fight began almost instantly with Kain matching all four Hylden move for move and blow for blow. The Soul Reaver would cut though and break their defences only for Kain to find that they could still manage to dodge the killing strike. Kain's talents with his mist form were tested to his limits as the warriors began to learn the patterns of his attacks and aversions.

There was o point in even contemplating employing the full capacity of his extensive range of Dark Gifts due to the amulets the possessed and he found that he could barely keep on top of things as the battle progressed. In addition to their Glyph protection the warriors were highly trained and well prepared. Unknown to both Khila and Kain they were from the very elite of the Slayer Forces; the Hylden dedicated and trained to patrol the Wild Lands and defend the connecting roads between the cities.

He held his ground well but he just could not manage to do any serious damage to a single one of them.

Then the tide turned as Kain heard Khila scream.

The Hylden warriors stopped their attacks and stood back, allowing Kain to see Caucahn with one hand locked firmly around Khila's neck and the Reaver's blade against her midriff.

"It's a long shot I know…" Caucahn said as she wriggled. "I thought to myself; surely the great Kain would not hold a care for the life of another, but after seeing your peculiar, protective, behaviour towards this pet when the glass shattered and the way you called it 'companion' I may have just changed my mind. So be a good vampire and give up or I may just be forced to hang it by its own intestines; that's something I've always wanted to do, to be frank so please, don't spoil it for me." He gave a perverted smile and slowly began to draw the blade across her stomach; blood began to bead out of the thin line he cut. She struggled harder but he only cut deeper.

"Stop it!" Kain roared and tried to run forwards, only to find the four warriors in front of him again and beating him back.

Khila could feel the sides of the wound beginning to split apart, coming away from each other as the Hylden ruler pushed the blade harder against her muscle. He wasn't going to stop. He didn't really care for using her as a hostage; she was his property after all. He jut wanted a good excuse to punish his pet for all the stupid little mistakes it had made through the years and, most of all, he wanted Kain to see another vampire with his appearance being tortured to death, screaming and crying whether Kain cared for it or not. His pet was nothing more than a visual aid, he had paid for it and he could discard it as easily as he had had it made for him. It was defective; he should have destroyed it years ago but had grown fond of hurting it; it made him happy.

Caucahn laughed. "You're going to like this, aren't you Pet." He told Khila, as though she should agree. "Do you want to scream for me?"

Although why he said that was quite a question because he was no fool. His hand closed tighter around her throat so a true scream could never be emitted; only a strained, painful gasping followed by muffled squeaks.

He crushed her closer against him; so close she could feel the pulsing heartbeat in his chest, even through his armour, against her back while he pushed the length of the blade deeper into her gut.

To be continued… 

_Author's Note – Gyaa! What a mean place for me to cut it off! Bad, bad me! I had to, the chapter was getting long. _

_The minute I post this I shall continue with Chap 12…sigh…a couple more chaps and it'll be done…_

_I hope that you understood the BO1 reference I shoved in there about the Lightning Spell…you did say I needed to put in more about the original game, I just pray it wasn't too obscure._

Smoke – _Why should all vampire fluids be blood? Do humans pee tea? I think not. But that aside, yeah…it was supposed to be similar to Raziel…you know…history has a thing for cycles and all that…Jor is no way related to Razzy (except as a clone nephew or something) but I liked the idea at the time. I hope the whole skeleton thing wasn't a disappointment…but be warned that its not as simple as it appears, more will be revealed. Thank you for always reviewing, it makes me feel so much better._

Jmartinz – _You're back! Hooray! Taadaa the big boss battle begins. Enjoy._

Darkmaster2 – _Well that was different…thank you…_

Varyssa – _I said I'd do it and I'm not in the habit of picking and choosing which promises I keep. It's a good challenge for me to expand my writing. I'm still glad you like the way I write Kain's part. I always worry people are going to think I make him too emotional. (Which some do…which sucks.)_

AllNightDreamer – _I'm so happy you came back! Thanks for reviewing again._

Greenlady247 – _Always good to see a new face (well…pen name). Thanks for taking the time to read my madness and comment on it. _

Biohazard _– Yeah, I know the Maddrell story idea was you, I just didn't know if you wanted the world to know…I might do it, but I don't have a proper plot in mind yet…anyway, big big thank you and hug for reviewing. I feel happy._

Manus Dei – _You're baaaaaaack. Hello again. Maybe I will do the Maddrell thing…but it'll be a while off. Hugs for the review. Thankeee!_


	12. C 12 Return

Chapter Twelve

Kain tried to break the barrier that the guards had formed of themselves to separate him from his suffering re-incarnation, but to his dismay this only seemed to help them keep him back, as it kept him concentrated in the same position and direction; easier to deal with.

The edge of the Hylden's Reaver sank deeper into her stomach, almost deep enough for the sliced skin to heal back over the top.

That was what Caucahn wanted; he wanted the blade of the Reaver to be embedded in her body so that he could rip it out again…he chuckled at the thought. The pet was his property and he could do what he damn well liked with it. He always had done so in the past so there was nothing to stop him now.

Khila's gut flared with searing pain as the blade continued to bury itself within her, guided by Caucahn's hand. She wanted to scream, if not for defence then just for the comfort of being able to control a single part of herself.

Caucahn had her crushed disgustingly close against him. She could feel his sick warm breath on the back of her neck; each one arriving faster than the last as her torment excited him.

The pain occupied her thoughts…she though that she might have heard something…a voice…calling through the sharp agony that refused to abate…the words spoken echoed inside her head…'Use your Gifts!'…she wanted to call back, to tell the voice…to tell Kain…that she just couldn't; that she didn't know how…and she wanted to apologise for not being able to honour her promise to him and keep herself safe.

Strained with pain and effort Caucahn heard her gasp. "Just kill me…please just kill me!"

"But that would do nothing for me." He replied almost conversationally. "It's been so long since we last had fun."

"No…NO!" A warmth began to grow inside her at the edges of the blade, spreading from the wound and reaching out to all parts of her body. The warmth spread to her fading thoughts, filling her mind with an almost flu-like fuzziness, deep, thick and hot. She slipped into unconsciousness and the heat haze flared out, the burning heat from inside of her was caught by the metal of the blade and by Caucahn's armour. The Hylden flung her away, yelling out as the heat began to burn his skin. Luckily for him as soon as he was out of her area of influence the heat seemed to be sucked back out of the metal, leaving him only mildly scorched in places rather than cremated.

"What have you done to my pet, Kain?" Caucahn demanded as Khila struck the floor hard.

"She has Dark Gifts now, Hylden coward. Come here and face me!"

"What and disappoint these good, proud soldiers who have looked so forward to testing their skills against one such as you? I think not." Caucahn replied, poking Khila's unresponsive form with his Reaver as though testing if it was safe yet to be near her. Judging by the way he flinched and withdrew and the way the heat haze seemed even stronger than before, it was safe to say that she could not yet be touched.

_Another instinct reaction. _Kain thought to himself. _When this is over I will teach you control._

The Hylden slayers advanced once more, striking out with calculated efficiency to wear him down. They were not trying to kill him; that honour was to be left to their Lord as he had requested. _Their_ duty was to exhaust him with their swift blows and dodges.

Though they did not posses the same level of physical strength as Kain, nor were able to match his vampiric speed they knew how to expect and judge his moves and were able to position themselves accordingly to gain the advantage.

Kain would never have believed it possible that the Soul Reaver could be matched without the use of magic or greater power…Maddrell was right – a weapon is only as good as the man that wields it. This infuriated Kain even more for the blade had been made for him and he _did_ know how to use it.

And through it all Caucahn watched stood back and watched in amusement, waiting for his special guards to bring the vampire lord to his knees and praying for mercy, and the grave he had dared to have the audacity to crawl out of.

The Hylden were working as one. However, they were not acting as a team as one might think; they were working as though their thoughts were the same and as though all four of them shared the same mind. They never had less than two of them attacking at the same time and when all four decided to press forwards it was only his vampiric ability that kept Kain alive. They were relentless with thier attacks. Though small, any slashes they made were gradually adding up…chipping away at his energy. Already he was beginning to tire and make mistakes, mistakes that if not properly and swiftly rectified could cost him everything.

Khila was still dead to the world; her heat haze, glaringly obvious, burned fiercely while her stomach healed.

One slayer took a chance, leapt and kicked Kain hard in the side. While off balance a second struck his hands with a heavy downwards blow. Kain's unfortunate and unwilling reaction to this was reflex – his claws snapped open and he dropped the Reaver.

Now disarmed his power was decreased. The sword was kicked away and it was up to him to keep himself on top of things as best he could using hand-to-hand combat alone.

He had never really bothered to learn anything that even resembled a form of martial arts, he hadn't seen the point. He was a vampire emperor, master of the Soul Reaver and Scion of Balance with the force of magic and armies behind him…this was completely unexpected, it had never even been contemplated, let alone planned for.

He used what little he knew and did what he was capable of. He began to rely on blocking tactics and randomly placed, fast strikes whilst trying to manoeuvre the location of the battle to a place from which he could reach the Reaver.

Whenever he managed to successfully place an attack the claw slashes he left behind were largely ignored. The clean cuts would bleed little and were not as debilitating as the bone crushing force of a heavy blade or blunt object…

….that thought gave him an idea…

Ducking another Hylden arm blade he dodged behind and lashed out again. The Hylden in question was half way through turning as Kain closed his claws into a fist mid-strike and landed a solid blow on his back.

The Hylden was instantly winded to the point of near suffocation and was the proud owner of a cracked spine. He tumbled forwards against one of his fellows and the two of them fell like stones.

That left Kain, for now, with the more manageable number of _two_ present adversaries.

Punches and kicks proved ten times more effective. Blades merely cut and slashed and clean sword wounds could be survived but the force behind a blow from a fist could do greater, unseen, internal damage and could easily push the light frames of the Hylden in every direction available.

Caucahn's face dropped as he saw his slayers go flying through the air and come crashing into the floors and walls of his upper hall.

Kain was happier than he had been in a long while, employing moves more likely to be viewed in backstreet brawls. There was nothing quite as satisfying as feeling and hearing knuckles breaking bones and neither was there a sound quite as sickeningly good as that of fists slamming into another body and hearing things inside burst and crack.

Yet even though the Hylden flopped about him like badly made rag dolls he seemed to be able to get no closer to either of his targets; the Reaver and Caucahn.

The Hylden continued to be battered, pummelled, kicked and generally caused severe harm to the accompanying cries of "Vae Victis!" and other such phrases that Kain thought sounded appropriate at the time. Yet another Hylden rolled across the floor after a well placed and impressive roundhouse kick, leaving a path to the Reaver and Caucahn finally open.

He grinned and charged forwards towards them both, intending to snatch up the sword en route to Caucahn just beyond who was still poking tentatively at Khila.

Unfortunately his hastily executed plan backfired quite spectacularly. One of his downed foes lying near to the path he was fast treading was able to grab a foot as he shot past. With a jerk and grunt of surprise Kain found his feet slipping out from under him. He managed to throw his hands forwards just in time so that at least his head did not hit the floor like the rest of him did.

It was at that point that all four Hylden slayers decided that they had had just about enough. They picked themselves up and piled in on top of him, dragging on his arms, leaning him over his own knees folded under him and putting weight on his back to stop him from getting up again.

Weakened from blood loss and drained of energy there was little that he could do to stop them from beating him into a state of mind so dazed he could barely think straight.

The Soul Reaver was meters away, not that it made any difference where it was as he would still not have been able to reach it.

Caucahn stepped forward with a smile plastered across his face and the second Soul Reaver in his hands.

"Just as before you shall die and this time you will _not _return. I know not how you managed it this time around but it shall not happen again. My good soldiers, hold him steady; I want no mistakes. Kain, you will die as you did before when you were defeated upon our release."

Kain knew what this meant; just as his self-to-be was killed in this time line, he would be beheaded with the Reaver.

In one swift gesture Caucahn flicked aside Kain's hair and then rested the blade against the back of his neck to take aim. He then raised the Reaver high above his head, ready to strike.

Kain heard the blade whistle as it plunged downwards but refused to close his eyes. Strangely, he did not feel the Reaver bite into his flesh; instead he heard the familiar clang of blade on blade as something got in the Reaver's way.

Caucahn roared in rage, the Hylden warriors gasped and Kain looked up to see Khila with _his_ Soul Reaver held firmly in both claws, blocking the strike. Her face was a mask of determination and he could see that she intended to fight, to hell with the consequences. But Kain knew that she hadn't enough fighting experience and she had not yet mastered the Dark Gifts she had acquired from him. "Khila, it's suicide." He tried to dissuade her.

"No." he had never heard a voice so firm before. She locked eyes with Caucahn. "This is where it ends; right now."

They un-locked their Reavers and took two steps away from each other. "You fool, pet. You dare to think that you can challenge me and live?" Caucahn laughed. For now he was not angry, merely amused at her sad little rebellion.

"I don't care which of us lives or dies anymore." She told him. "I just want to prove my point."

"What point?"

"That I am not a pet; I am a _Vampire_ and I am proud to be one."

"Put that sword down, pet, you don't even know how to wield it properly. You're just guessing."

"It is better then just standing idly aside and accepting this tyranny."

"Tyranny! Have you read the legends of pre-history? The time of our expulsion? How can you call our rule any worse than the rule of the vampires throughout the ages? The first vampires banished us only because of a religious belief; how is that fair? How is it fair that _he_," he pointed at Kain, "could do what he did to the humans of his time? How are you any different from us? How dare you claim to be any better when the history of your ancestors and sires is far more stained than ours ever was!"

"I'm not talking about the _past_!" Khila exploded. "I care only about _now_, about my suffering and suffering of my kind _now_. I couldn't care less about what he did or what you did centuries ago. I studied the legends because I wanted to know about the man…the vampire…that I resembled; the reason for my greater punishments, merely because I look like him. But I never allowed the events of the past to distort my views of the present. I dreamed that one day he might return not because I thought that he should rule again but because he was one of the few that have ever been known to fight you and succeed…well…until you executed him. So far as I am concerned there is no such thing as destiny; your future is what you make of it, and if you constantly live in the past you will never truly learn to live."

"Was that speech supposed to impress me or bore me? Because you'll find that it was the latter that I experienced."

"Try to imagine how much I care." The Reaver was unwavering in her grip.

"You have become a nuisance, pet. You four take _him_ aside so that there is space enough for this wretched leech to show us what it can do; if anything."

Kain was dragged unceremoniously into a corner, struggling all the way, and held against the wall so that he too could watch, still too half dazed and weak to do anything about it.

Caucahn was the first to attack; he gave no warning and lashed out giving Khila barely enough time to raise her Reaver to defend herself. It was all she could do to keep herself alive and dodge the blows. He was faster and had a lifetimes worth of experience whilst she was running on pure instinct and luck, blocking what strikes she was able to but could never get in an attack of her own because he never gave her the chance.

Kain, when he could, would shout out hints, tips and warnings to her and received punches and kicks from his captors for doing so, but at one point he did manage to severely bite one of them which brightened his mood somewhat, not to mention very slightly improving his health.

Khila ducked under another attack but Caucahn recognised her move and brought the blade down in mid-strike. The blade sank into her side but did not slice her in two; she pulled herself away and gritted her teeth against the pain while Caucahn laughed wildly.

She knew she couldn't win; she was already tiring and was finding it increasingly hard to avoid the Hylden's blade. He lashed out once more and this time she was thrown across the room and into the wall beside Kain. The wall cracked and splintered leaving a shattered indent in the stone after she had dropped down. She looked up at Caucahn as he advanced towards her. "I won't give up." She gripped the Reaver even tighter and with grunts of effort stood up one more. "I never have done and I never will do, I cant let-" she suddenly stopped in the middle of her sentence, sighed and closed her eyes. Her whole body seemed to shudder and when she opened her eyes again they burned with the same bright blue flame that also filled the sockets of the skull upon the Reaver she held.

She dropped into a fighter's crouch that Kain recognised. "Surrender, Hylden." She demanded.

Caucahn watched this change with interest. "What have you done, pet?" he asked her.

Khila grinned. "You'll never know."

The fight continued but this time Khila began to gain the upper hand; she suddenly knew how to use the Soul Reaver's full potential, she knew the spells and was able to use her vampiric abilities far more effectively. Her movements were fluid and every attack she made ran seamlessly into the next as though she had been fighting for years. The Reaver was not just the weapon she bore, it was almost as though it was an extension of her body and it responded to her actions.

Caucahn didn't know what to do…she was beating him; this pathetic pet girl was actually winning. He yelled out in frustration and let out a flurry of fast strikes in one go. Khila blocked all but for the last, which she ducked under with a rolling dodge, from this position she swung the Reaver upwards, catching him off guard and throwing him up into the air. She jumped to follow him and while he was helpless thrust the blade down into his chest, driving him into the floor and impaling him.

He screamed out, blood bubbling out of his mouth, and limbs twitching as he died.

After a moment he lay still and Khila pulled the Soul Reaver out before turning to the Hylden slayers. She didn't have to say anything, she just opened her arms as though to invite them and they all attacked at once.

Kain left her to it, the fight was short and bloody and she was the victor four times over. They died beside their lord, their souls wrenched out of their bodies.

Kain looked Khila over critically. Her posture was that of a person unfamiliar with their own body…but Kain knew full well that the mind behind those flaming blue eyes were not hers.

"Where is she, Raziel, where did you put her so that you could take over?" Kain asked.

Raziel, in Khila's body, using Khila's voice replied. "Where she does not belong." With Khila's hand he held up the Soul Reaver. What Kain saw shocked him; the blade was tarnishing, the­­ brown stain was working its way from the hilt to the tip. It had already hungrily coated a sixth of the blade, and the hilt itself, the fang toothed and horned skull was cracking; thin fractures were snaking their way from the eye sockets outwards. "She cannot stay there or it will not just be the Reaver that breaks, it will be our souls as well."

"You swapped places with her? You switched souls? But I though that you could never…that you were…"

"Trapped? Bound eternally? So did I. But there is something profoundly wrong with this world, Kain…there is something _eating_ at Nosgoth and it is far more than just the loss of the Pillars. This disease runs deeper than the corruption of the Pillars ever has or will do and it is affecting everyone and everything. Bonds are loose here; that is why I was able to switch places with her…neither we nor her are truly meant to be here."

"How is Khila not meant to be here? She was _born_ here."

"I don't understand it myself…I have nothing solid to base it on." Raziel told him. "It is just a feeling, a _strong_ feeling…"

"Is it still the Elder God?"

"No. The one thing that I can be certain of is that it is _not_ the Elder God in any way shape or form. It is something…oh, I cannot explain it. The thing is…even though it feels rotten and dead, it also feels as though this Nosgoth is _supposed_ to be that way, like there is a greater purpose, as though _Nosgoth _has a destiny of sorts that revolves around this decay. I fear we have already played a bigger part in things than it seems."

"Usually it is I explaining things to _you._ The roles feel strange reversed." He paused a moment to gather some breath back; he was still weak. "What am I supposed to be doing though? What is it that I have already done?"

"I don't know. I wish I could say something of use. All I know is that this Nosgoth is far beyond the rot of ours and there is a needed reason for it to be this way." Already now, nearly half of the Reaver was tarnished. "There is a function for our being here; we just can't see it yet."

"I have spent most of my life blind in that case. There is always someone with unwritten plans for me, why should now be any different."

Raziel shrugged apologetically. "I sincerely wish that there was something more I could do or say, but there isn't. You'll just have to take each day as it comes for once. At least now there will be no more interfering with timelines...and no Moebius." He added.

"Yes, I suppose that is something to be thankful for." Kain sighed.

The tarnishing of the Reaver was gradually increasing in speed.

"I have to go back." Raziel said. "She is not meant to be there."

"Raziel…"

"Yes?"

"…Thank you."

Raziel nodded with a smile. "I have waited a long time to hear you say that."

"Hnh, well don't you dare think for a second that you will be possessing _me_ any time soon, Raziel, it would be in your best interests not to forget that. It's bad enough that your inside Khila…and she is a _woman_…it's almost perverted."

"Well, I didn't exactly have a choice of hosts." he huffed. "Regardless of that, before I go there is some advice that I would like you to heed if possible."

"And what might that be?"

"Find someone to eat; you look terrible."

Kain raised an eyebrow.

Raziel cocked Khila's head in though all of a sudden. "There are two Reavers in this room but nothing seems to be happening…every other time we have been able to feel the paradox, but not now…"

Kain realised that Raziel was right. The vertigo or displacement like feel that had always been present before was absent from the scene.

"Perhaps this world is so twisted such things mean nothing."

Raziel nodded an agreement. "Most likely." he sighed. Then, with conversation and time exhausted, Raziel returned to the confines of the Soul Reaver. Again he displaced Khila's soul with his own, Khila shuddered again and the blue flames were extinguished.

To be continued… 

_Author's Note – And there we have it, the penultimate chapter is done. Oh, the end is nigh! Ooh, and everyone should go to Smoke's homepage at deviantART and check out her pics._

_Meh…what else can I say? Ugh, it's all hot over here right now, bloody weather. Excuse me while I melt._

Foo – _Control thy temper. The cliffhanger is over. Hope you enjoyed._

Urd Goddess and Demoness – _Thank you very much. I only hope you find any future fics I produce as enjoyable._

gryps incedio – _No, not the Nexus Stone. The Nexus Stone cancelled out the Reaver's power. These are just random Hylden-made magic imbued artefacts that cancel out Dark Gifts. You are not dumb, just a bit confused. Maybe I should have explained it better. I'm glad you like long chapters, as I seem incapable of writing short ones._

Lunatic Pandora 1 – _Kain isn't omnipotent and though he sometimes likes to think otherwise, he is not a god. He's just a guy. Admittedly he is uber strong, fast, un-dead, has magic and the coolest sword in the history of fantasy but in the end I consider him to be as fallible as the next man. I'm trying to convey that without making him a total wimp. I guess, buy the sound of your last review, that I have failed._

Biohazard – _Haydn, sorry I haven't contacted you since the last e-mail you sent but, as you know, A-levels are doing me no favours either. I'll be in contact by the end of the week, I promise. Hope you liked Raz's return. Personally I'm not overly pleased with it, but hey-ho it filled the gap._

Jmartinz – _Thank you. Hope you like this one too. Glad you got the reference. _

greenlady247 – _Hooray! And thank you. I have fans! (Does a little dance)_

Smoke – _Gah! (Bangs head on table) Sorry about the typos, when I have the time, I shall fix them. That line was supposed to say 'so there may be people around'. Umm…guess I don't explain things very well, huh? The pickled vamps were the average enemy vampires encountered in SR1 (Dumahim, Rahabim e.c.t). The next and last (sans any bonus bits I do later) instalment will complete the explanation of the skeleton…and just about everything else, I hope. Well…Khila survived, sorry if it's a bit of a disappointment but she was a bit needed. Caucahn's real evilness may be fully explored in a bonus chapter after the main storyline._

Manus Dei – _Well…Caucahn's dead. Did that count as suffering? I've…uh…kinda run out of places to do another Vader scene, but if I can I'll try to squeeze one into the last chapter._


	13. C 13 Conclusion

Chapter Thirteen

The moment she regained control of her body Khila screamed and flung the Soul Reaver away from her. She then wrapped her arms about herself as though in comfort and backed towards the wall, away from the sword.

Kain approached carefully, picking up his Reaver as he went. "Are you hurt?"

She screamed out loud and moved away from him so fast that she tripped over a corpse and dropped as her claws skittered on the floor. "Don't bring that thing near me!"

"Listen to me, it is not going to happen again." he held out his hands to her almost imploringly, apologising on Raziel's behalf. "I promise."

She cringed back away from him but then gingerly took both sets of offered claws in her own and allowed him to pull her up.

All the energy seemed to leave her and she collapsed against him. She was still conscious but her body too was weak…the reason being that another mind had been forcing her body to do things it was not used to. "Kain…it _hurt_."

"It would have hurt a lot more if that had not happened. You could not have won that fight, you were not ready." he said, supporting both his weight and hers.

"I tried…I tried so hard…but in the end I was just as useless as ever. I'm so sorry."

"You needn't be. With the minor ability you have you did admirably well and I'll hear no more on the subject. There is still much, much more that needs doing. There must be someone already waiting to take Caucahn's place, like an heir of sorts in case of emergencies such as this. But right now…I think that we have both earned a rest."

"Yes." she agreed weakly. "And you promised that we would go back for Jor."

"Hmm? Oh…yes. My, your memory appears to have improved."

"What do you mean?" she lifted her head off of his shoulder. "You expected me to forget something like _that_?"

"Would you mind removing yourself from me, I cannot move with you draped about my front."

Somewhat unstable but able to just keep her balance, she rocked back and headed for the second Reaver which still lay where the dead fingers of Caucahn had released it next to his frail cadaver.

With a surprisingly steady hand she picked it up. "What do we do with this now?" she asked, gazing into the glaring, angry, empty sockets, her previous fear apparently gone.

"I'm not entirely sure." he replied. _What do you do with two Reavers?_

She offered it to him but he shook his head. "No, you keep it."

"What? _Me? _But…but…"

"I do not like that word." He reminded her.

"Ah…uh…hnnh…alright then, if you think that it's safe." She seemed fascinated by it, no longer in the least bit afraid. "Oh…are you sure? I mean…it's the _Soul Reaver_ that we are talking about not any old blade."

"I will not have it fall into another Hylden's hands, and neither do I need to carry two."

The situation really did seem wrong with the lack of paradox. Was this world so beyond help that not even the Reaver could stir time as it always had before?...or maybe Raziel was right and this Nosgoth really was dying in the name of some unknown sacrifice and would not allow any change.

Khila pulled the belt from a nearby corpse, figuring that the dead Hylden didn't really need it any more and used it to fashion a strap she could use to keep the Reaver tied to her back. It was too damn long to be worn on the hip.

"You may also want to find something in the way of clothing." Kain suggested. "That dress of yours appears to be near the end of its days."

She looked down at herself. The accumulated rips and tears and cuts had taken their toll and her present sartorial predicament could make Umah look dressed for the winter. The tattered remnants of her dress barely covered what it was supposed to and looked ready to fall off her completely, clinging to her body by mere threads.

"You're right. I hadn't even noticed…" she dusted her rags. "Caucahn always used to be so picky about the way I looked. Not that it matters now."

"Shall we then?" He gestured to the door.

"Are we going to go back to the Refuge? After we find Jor that is…and if someone hasn't already removed him."

"Yes. We will return to the Refuge. It is the only place we _can_ go." _Oh, how infinitely depressing._

"Please don't start arguing with Maddrell again. I just couldn't bare it."

"I'll try not to but I will promise nothing. Remember that it takes more than one side to forge a peace." He pressed on the door and then remembered that it had been locked. "Mm..?" he looked to the other side of the hall and to the door set in the far wall past the almost battlefield-like scene of blood and carnage on the floor.

Khila shook her head. "Even if it isn't locked there are no other ways into or out of the library unless you feel the urge to fling yourself out of a window."

"It was worth a thought." And with that he focused a telekinetic bolt on the offending exit door.

It took time and it took the deaths of many more Hylden before they were through but eventually they retraced their steps through the castle and left the way they came through the pipe line after filling both of their blood hungers and replenishing their energy (which had been lacking, to say the least). They emerged in the Wild Lands again with chaos, panic and disorder following behind them and with death walking by their side…two incarnates of the same soul; equal, individual and united.

Kain smiled and, for the first time in a long time, he walked towards tomorrow.

The night was cold.

There was a thin, sharp wind that blew through the canyons of the Wild Lands that seemed to be bearing grudges against the three vampires that stood atop the cliff that overhung the mouth of the Refuge.

Kain, Khila and Maddrell ended their respectful silence and then Maddrell stepped forwards to the funeral pyre that had been built before them.

Upon the brittle wood and coal bed had been laid the body of Jor and the skeleton of the 'Abomination' which had both been retrieved from the very late Caucahn's castle.

Maddrell placed a flaming torch between the bones and the cadaver and then stood back as the pyre caught light and the flames leapt up towards the moon.

Khila, now dressed in trousers and a shirt taken from one of the Vetus' many victims left behind in the Refuge, sighed and felt the weight of the Soul Reaver upon her back. "Now what do we do?" she whispered as she watched the hungry flames begin to consume the corpse of the man that had given his life to aid her. His body blackened and his skin began to peel away, flaking off and floating into the wind alongside tiny glowing embers like so many mournful fireflies. So too did the bones turn the colour of pitch and begin to smoke.

"Now we reclaim Nosgoth." Kain told her. "We have both Soul Reavers, the clans will be reformed under my guidance once again and we will rid Nosgoth of the Hylden for good."

"Genocide again." Maddrell sneered. "Can you not move your twisted thoughts from death for just five minutes?"

Khila sighed. "I don't think I'm cut out for this."

"It is far too late for that, Kitten." Maddrell flapped his wings a few times to fan the flames and make them grow. The fire danced as Jor's body collapsed in on itself as the internal organs burned to ash. "Even if we do not go after them, the Hylden will come after us; there is not doubt about that. Thank you very much for getting us Vetus involved in your mess by running back here, _I don't think_!"

"Nosgoth will be mine again, you may count on it." Kain said defiantly.

"And then what?" Maddrell wheeled round. "Do you remember the disaster you made of your last attempt at ruling, dear Emperor?"

"The tragedy you dwell upon had a purpose of great significance. That which you consider a disaster was actually my greatest act as ruler; a world does not consist of a few individuals, sacrifices must be made. This is not the end; this is merely a fresh and clean beginning for us all. It all starts here anew."

Khila sighed again.

"You do not have to do anything." Kain told her. "If you really feel you cannot do more then stay back. You do not have to follow me wherever I go. I already have two shadows according to you, so I do not strictly need a third. I am not your master."

"I want to help though, it feels right...I don't feel so lost."

"I hope for my own sake that you know what you are doing, Kain." Maddrell pouted.

Kain turned his eyes to the pyre and felt almost relieved as he watched his own ashen bones fall inside it as the branches beneath them disintegrated into a cloud of golden sparks. The fire crackled loudly, almost like a kind of primal music to accompany the flame dance. Yes, this was where it all began.

He then remembered something…and pulled the small gold coin from where he had secreted it, the coin that had caused all of this. _Yes_, he thought to himself in the privacy of his own mind, _this will have to be the edge._ With a flick of his claws he sent the coin spinning into the pyre. Now he felt complete.

No…now he felt sick…

As the coin hit the flames it too turned black, black like thick oil that rippled in the heat. The nauseous sensation began in the pit of his stomach and then spread painfully through his body, first to his chest, and then to his limbs before finally making its way through his mind like the marching of an unstoppable army. He clutched at his stomach and watched as the coin evaporated from its greasy mass into a pearlescent vapour. _What the hell is happening to me?_

He tried to call to Khila and Maddrell but found he could not make his voice work, his mouth opened and closed but no sound passed his lips. Distressed, he grabbed at Khila and fell to his knees.

She looked down and saw him on the ground, his eyes wide in panic.

"Are you feeling alright?" she asked, kneeling beside him.

He shook his head and bent over double and his arms crossed over his abdomen.

Maddrell too looked down and wrinkled his little nose in disgust. "Ugh, if you are going to vomit do it in _that_ direction." He pointed towards the edge of the cliff.

Kain gazed up at Khila almost pleadingly.

She took in his expression. "What's wrong?" she placed a hand on his shoulder.

Maddrell giggled and imitated her voice as he laughed out - "Awww poor little baby Kain. Feeling sick?"

Kain tried to focus on Khila but found that his eyes were also failing him. Shadow was creeping in around the corners of his vision and with distraught certainty he realised that he was going blind. He had had perfect eyesight for well over a thousand years but now all he could see was a blur.

Then it all went horrifically dark. Khila, Maddrell, the cliff and the pyre all disappeared into a darkness so thick he felt as though he could reach out and hold it. Then the sounds around him slowly faded into silence, the crackling, Maddrell's sniggering and the wind all vanished as his ears too betrayed him. Finally he stopped feeling. Khila's comforting claw was replaced by a numbing cold nothingness that wrapped itself around him until he could not even fell the warmth of the fire.

He was alone…but…he could still feel the Reaver on his back and his clothes against his skin…

The feeling of sickness subsided and slowly dissipated until it was gone.

Then came a sound…a strong female voice that carried in the silence like the voice of an ancient and beautiful, yet forgotten, deity.

"_Stand, Kain_" it said kindly. Although it was not truly a voice he had heard. It was as though the voice had just appeared in his mind, nothing like the Whisper; this was more like simply knowing what had been spoken without hearing it…it was like remembering.

He did as he had been asked. "What…who are you?" his voice was back under his control, as was the rest of his body.

"_You know me, Kain. You know me very well. Please accept my apologies for the discomfort you have suffered. It must have been hard to judge what you could and could not tolerate."_

"You did this? You sent me to that place?"

"_In a way, yes, I am the cause of your arrival in both this 'between' space and the time that you have just encountered. You have fulfilled a great duty even though it is unknown to you."_

"What do you mean?" Kain growled.

"_Listen to me carefully…you have just played your part in something of integral importance to your own future. This may be hard for you to understand, but I know that you will try."_

Kain said nothing and simply made himself content to patiently wait for the explanation that he had been longing for.

"_It is possible, Kain, to have two timelines playing out simultaneously. Two timelines that, although they come from the same origin, are very different. What you have just witnessed is not what will happen to you. That timeline continues to ensure that you shall never encounter the Nosgoth-born Hylden."_

"That makes no sense."

"_Allow me to try and explain." _The voice was patient, but form in the tone of its words. _"Originally in that timeline, yes, you were killed but that exact world was not the result. Because the completed Soul Reaver fell into the hands of the Hylden it could not continue with its historical cycle and the world as you knew it at the time crumbled apart and a new one was forged in its death throes. The people involved in this event were not erased from the time line because they were part of the change. All those who existed in your old Empire remained 'forgotten' by history…still alive but with no purpose for their being. A world almost identical to the one you saw was made with human slaves, vampire pets and Hylden sovereigns."_

"But why was Nosgoth dying? If history was changed that much then why had the rot a reason to be there at all?"

"_It is the Hylden and their foul technology that damned that time line and that is why they must be contained. Their black magic that they call 'science' must not spread. You see, Kain, they toyed with destinies. Even if they end up altered destinies still exist. When the pets took on the Essence of an older past vampire they not only took the older vampire's form but also a fragment of their soul and thus their very _destiny._ But the destinies that attached themselves could not play out because they were acting in the wrong timeline. That is why the pets always seem so lost and so forgetful. That is also why the body of Jor did not disintegrate; his original soul was trying to properly return to his corpse, but ultimately failed to fully integrate again because part of it had been devoured by the Soul Reaver and his destiny had become too twisted."_

A memory echoes in Kain's head; Khila's voice – 'I feel as though I am living the wrong life.'

"_By taking another's destiny the original destinies laid out for the pets were lost and so time itself began to unravel completely like a frayed cloth in a strong wind. The Hylden could _not_ be allowed to do that. I had to intervene."_

"I does not seem that you succeeded." Kain scoffed.

Again the voice showed its patience. _"Oh, but I did, to a degree. I sent visions to Maddrell, the leader of the Vetus rebel army and he chose to follow the plan that I had shown him."_

"What Plan? He spoke of no such visions…"

"_The Maddrell you met is not the Maddrell I am speaking of. The plan is something as follows; first, a joint resistance force between humans and vampires was created. There was no harmony between them but there was co-operation. They agreed together that Maddrell's visions were the only solution. They decided that they would allow a second hopeful timeline to continue 'running', with you still alive, but at the cost of keeping _their_ timeline active but isolated in a stagnant time loop that would consistently repeat in such a way that the Nosgoth-born Hylden would never encounter you and would instead be pulled and locked into the loop that they would not realise was I a lie."_

"That, you have already told me…loosely."

"_To create the loop much would have to be completed. Their first task was to forge a false Soul Reaver sword-"_

"-a fake? Is that even possible?" he interrupted.

"_Hush, now." _such a tone and phrase was so motherly and warm he could not help but comply. It struck something inside him, something from his human past from, perhaps, when he was a child. _"Yes, they forged a replica and then over a period of many years imbued it with a potent curse. After lengthy discussions a human volunteered to complete the second key part of the plan. A human male by the name of Tyal agreed to take on your Essence and become you in form through Hylden essence technology. He was dressed correctly, given the Cursed Reaver and was sent back to the past, before the Hylden killed you and created the alternate future."_

"How is that possible, how could he go back to a time that no longer existed."

"_The curse allowed the _reversal _of history and it reset everything to that moment. Tyal intercepted the Hylden patrol and took your place. He allowed himself to be 'lured' to your empire, to be defeated and to be beheaded. As the Cursed Reaver killed him the curse was activated and the loop began, setting every event after that moment for the Nosgoth-born Hylden in their own isolated dimension parallel to the true time line. They were effectively removed from your line and placed into their own. The Pillars broke because of the curse and the fact they had been separated from their purpose."_

"I think I follow now…"

"_I am glad."_

This statement brought another rare smile to his lips. It was as though he was a child again and had just been praised by his mother for doing well in his studies…

"_Now…things progressed as you saw. In the loop the curse ensured that a Hylden novice would accidentally make a 'faulty' pet for the Hylden sovereign Caucahn."_

"Khila."

"_Correct." _the matriarchal voice said happily and again Kain felt praised. _"You were briefly brought into the loop so that you could free Khila, give her your Dark Gifts and kill Caucahn so that she would gain the Cursed Reaver. Just as Raziel equipped you for your task to come, you have equipped Khila for hers. Once you have returned to your time I will send her a vision to show her what she must do. She must renew the curse."_

"How?" he did not like the way that the mysterious voice seemed to be able to hit all of the right chords inside him; it made him feel vulnerable and it was not the kind of feeling he was used to. He attempted to pass the darkness but no matter how many steps he took he still found his sight empty except for himself…there was nothing but the voice in the great black void that surrounded him.

"_She will become the Abomination and will go back via the curse and repeat what Tyal performed."_

"But she is a woman and she looks like my _younger_ self, not me as they expect me!"

"_First, with the aid of Maddrell she will create a dimensional link-way, the focus of which will be centred in a small gold coin. She will then wait until she has evolved, evolved to a form that looks like you. She will work on her muscle structure and voice to make them seem masculine and then when she has done that she will cut the flesh from her chest and cauterise the wound to scar it and remove all obvious outward sign of her gender. She will dress herself correctly and then the curse will collapse the time pool, destroying everything within it while shunting her back to the place of its creation in the true timeline whereupon she will take Tyal's place, for he no longer exists to do so. But not before she has briefly gone further back in time through a Time Streaming Device to deliver the coin to you to bring you into her own past. They will kill her instead of you. To ensure the pretence is kept up, just as the Reaver is about to strike her she will use her Charm ability to convince every Hylden that she is male and just to be sure she will use her Immolate Gift against herself, burning her body black to cause her skin to be so fused and melted her gender could never be identified. The Skeleton of the Abomination that you saw in the museum was of a past Khila. The reason you never looked hard enough at the bones to realise they were female was because the potency of the Charm she used was so great it lasts to this day."_

"No…" his voice rang out in disbelief. She would burn herself…just so he would stay alive…just to keep the loop active and keep the Nosgoth-born Hylden contained…all for him…she would do this… "No…" such a terrible way to die…wrapped in flames…

"_It had to be female you that was created by the novice because any male ones would have been destroyed out of fear of being unable to break him. A female Kain was a highly amusing joke to them."_

"No…that isn't right…it isn't fair…is her only purpose to die in such agony and torture?" he could not deny it…he had grown attached to Khila like a father to a child they never knew they had…or perhaps to a twin sister.

"_She chooses to do so, Kain. I gave her a vision but it was her decision to carry it out, just as it was the first Maddrell's to initiate the construction of the loop. I can only offer; I cannot directly instigate…that is not in my power. And even to send such visions of possibilities hurts me so, I could not even bring you to that timeline myself. It is not my place to decide things for others. It disgusts me to think that there are those beings out there that feel they have the right to control lives that are not their own."_

"I see…"

"_Good. Now, you have played your part. It is up to Khila now. You have prepared her and she has many centuries ahead of her before she dies as the Abomination. Her life will be the same as the Khila's before her, it will be a happy one and all her memories of you will be fond. She will regret nothing and will feel honoured to have helped you."_

"Then why do I not feel any better?"

"_Because you are already mourning. It will pass. Every creature dies in the end; not even a vampire has true immortality. Do not pity her; be proud of her and continue on with what must be done. You still have to ensure _your_ rightful destiny, don't you? The loop was made to give you the opportunity to do that, do not waste their sacrifice."_

"I won't."

The voice sighed happily. _"Go forth then, Scion of Balance and continue what has begun. The future is what you make of it, as it always has been. Good bye, and good luck."_

His senses began to return to him and the shadows and darkness began to fade away. He could feel the presence of the voice lifting. "Wait! At least tell me your name!"

"_My name? Just think, Kain; you should know my name after all that you have done for me."_ The voice seemed to smile and then was gone.

Kain was looking back out from his vantage point in the ancient Vampire citadel at the Pillars…back where he had left off. Not a second had passed since he had left and returned…he could feel it.

As he gazed he thought of the voice and he realised that he _did _know her name.

He had known all along.

He closed his eyes and felt the Reaver, the true Reaver, humming with power on his back.

'_The future is what _I_ make of it.'_

He smiled.

He knew her name.

Her name was Nosgoth.

The End

_Author's Note – And there you have it. It's finally over. Y'know, I actually hate that ending…it sounded a lot better in my head. I'm satisfied with the content but the actual explanation just doesn't convey what I hoped. I spent forever on it and I still can't say it's what I had planned. Ah well. _

_That aside, I hope you all enjoyed it, those who reviewed and those who did not; I thank you all heartily for sticking around. I give you all have hugs of appreciation._

_A Note To All - Keep your eyes peeled for a couple of extra's I have on the way, one request and one or two bits that never made it to the final edit, but might be worth a read. I'll bung 'em on the end later as they wont qualify as separate fics. I may well be posting the prequel to this called 'Flight of the Butterfly Man', which will be Maddrell's back-story…though at the moment I'm not sure, we'll see how it goes…the title may change too._

_I've also got a couple of one-shots (unrelated) in the making._

_Thank you again._

_If anyone has any last questions they want answering, I'll e-mail back if you give me the address (if you're not a signed in member that is)_

_Replies!_

Lunatic Pandora1 _– It was the only way I could get Raz in there! I'm sorry…y'know, Kain is my fav too…maybe I just interpret him differently. Anyway, thank you so much for the reviews!_

Smoke – _what can I say? Thank you for consistently reviewing, you've been there from the start. You have no idea how happy it makes me to get regular updates on my progress, as it were. Again, my apologies for the typos…maybe I'll fix and repost someday. As you can now see, Khila has no insight as to what Raz knows because they were not sharing the same space; they switched. They themselves never made contact, he just pushed her out of the way and took possession of her body. Also, I have to thank you for putting me on that C2 list… I'm so happy you think of it that way. Though after recent events, I'm not sure if the characters are a bit out now…Anyway, hope you like the conclusion. _

Shadow Kage – _Hope you likes. Thanks for reading and reviewing!_

gryps incedio – _Nah, I don't study latin…I just have many books, an internet connection and far too much spare time. I love Latin. Originally the chapters were going to end with 'Narratio resumetur' (roughly translates as 'To be continued) but I figured it would be too confusing and left it in English. In defence of my version of Kain I shall say this; I refuse to write him perfect. In my opinion there is no one who can be the ultimate undefeated god-like entity we wish existed. Yeah, he goes through a lot in BO1 but not after lengthy processes of trail and error involving a lot of resurrections (or at least he did when I played it). I needed him down and out to Raz into the fic and in my opinion losing one fight where the odds are highly stacked against you doesn't make you a wimp, it makes you more real. Anyway, thanks for reviewing and reading. 'Solve lora infernis! Et futue te ipsum!' (roughly – Unleash Hell! And have a nice day!)_

Foo – _Now you have no reason to break things. My thanks for the return and the review._

Biohazard – _Hiya. What do I say that we haven't already been through? I'll e-mail soon with the next part of FotBM. Catch y'later._

Jadefire – _I'm glad you enjoy. Thank you for the reviews._

Varyssa – _I'm so glad someone out there likes the way I write him. If you enjoy this version of his character than keep an eye out for the one shot I'll be posting…it's untitled at the moment, but once that's fixed it'll be ready to roll. Like Smoke you have been here from the start, and that makes me so happy it's unbelievable. You have the biggest thanks I can give, and I hope you enjoyed the ending…even though I know it's as confusing as hell. Sorry. P.S. The bonus chapter I promised you is just about done and will be posted in while. No longer than the usual update wait, maybe shorter._

Urd Goddess and Demoness – _Thank you for reading and reviewing! Hope you enjoyed the end._

Manus Dei – _How do I fit it all it? I squeeze it like a sardine. I was trying to keep in line with the games in how they throw all the explanation in one big chunk (The Big Exposition, as Michael Bell put it) but I think it was just a bit too much to do in one go. Oh well too late now. Thank you for sticking around so long, and I hope you're not disappointed with the end. Thank you for the reviews._

Shrike-v2 – _Ta for the review, Mike…though I can't think of anything else to say that I didn't in that e-mail. Haydn will soon have the next bit of FotBM, so if y'bug him I'm sure you can read it if you want to. Just let me know what you think if you do._

les enfant – _Sorry I couldn't post as might as you might have liked. This is it, I'm afraid. Hope your opinion of the fic hasn't changed and thank you for reading reviewing._

The Twisted Sister – _Thanks for thinking this fic was worth it to be your first review. I know Raz was strange but that was because I just can't pinpoint his character. He's very complex and evolves a lot mentally as the games progress…I was trying to take him to the next logical step but seemed to have failed miserably. Hooray, I'm a favourite! Thanks for the review._


	14. A 01 Narcissism

Disclaimer – I don't own Legacy of Kain. If I did, I wouldn't be doing this.

Beyond the Edge: Additional

_(These are the odd bits that got written because I was asked to or I just fancied doing them at the time but had no place for them in the actual plot.)_

**Title - **Narcissism

**Rating – **Nothing higher than PG-13, coz I'm not changing the overall rating for one extra bit.

**Genre – **Romance (_You have been warned)._

**Location** – Would take place in chapter 13 after the events at Caucahn's castle but before the funeral pyre and Kain's return to his own timeline.

**Type – **Optional/Request

**Notes – **This chapter went through about four incarnations before I finally settled on this, which is actually an amalgamationof allthe attempts.I've never done anything even resembling romance before and it is not my style so bare with me, ok. It was written as a thank-you to a regular reviewer who was there from start to finish.

**Warning** – unavoidable OOCness, I've tried hard but LoK and love don't go together in my opinion. Seriously, I think it's a bad idea.

**For Varyssa**

"Maddrell, where is Khila?" Kain demanded of the Razielim as he strode purposefully towards him.

Maddrell was sifting through a cavernous room within the Refuge filled with firewood for suitable pieces to be used on a funeral pyre. "I have no idea; to be honest I thought that she was with you. She usually isn't too far from wherever you happen to be at the time."

"I haven't seen her since she went off to change her clothes. Before that she had said she wanted to help with the arrangements for Jor so I assumed she would be here."

"Well, she isn't." Maddrell replied and threw some more wood into a sack. "Why do you need her anyway, give the poor girl a rest why don't you? She's been trailing around behind you since you found her."

Kain growled something indistinct and turned to leave again.

"Why do you worry?" Maddrell asked quietly, causing him to pause. "Alright, so she's like family…biologically speaking…but since when has that mattered to you? You executed Raziel without qualms and let every one of your sons be killed without showing a shred of remorse. Then, of course, you disappear without a word to anyone and leave them to defend themselves against the invading Hylden forces. So, what makes her different? Oh … wait … that's a silly question really."

"And what might you mean by that?" Kain demanded.

"You're a bloody narcissist and she _is _you. So, you're only showing care for yourself, am I right?"

Kain refused to stoop to his level and engage in childish taunting so simply walked off while his temper held out. His grand-fledgling's accusations had, however, caused him to question himself. Why _was _he looking for her? The action had been practically instinctive and he hadn't really thought about what he was doing. He had not seen her around in a little while…so he had taken it upon himself to locate her. But why? He couldn't work that part out. He felt ridiculous; how could he not even know the contents of his own skull?

Well…he did have one last thought as to where she might be.

Yes. It would make sense for her to be_ there_; to pay her respects and say her last goodbye to a fellow pet turned free vampire.

His assumption was correct and he found her within the small chamber that had become a temporary, makeshift morgue for the body and bones that they had brought back from the castle of the now dead Lord Caucahn.

The room had once-upon-a-time been a bedchamber, but its inhabitants had long since evolved to a point where they could no longer use it. The body of Jor was laid out on the bed that hadn't been slept in for god knows how many years and the skeleton of the 'abomination' rested in a wooden chest at the foot of the bed. The air was thick with the smell of dust and the sound of small grunts coming from Khila. She had done as he had earlier suggested and had found some new clothes to change into. The corpses littering the Refuge had supplied her with a veritable wardrobe of options. In the end she had settled for a simple shirt and trousers combination which had quite surprised him. He had expected her to have chosen one of the many dresses of the female dead…not because he thought it wasn't a woman's place to wear trousers, as it didn't bother him in the slightest, but because he had been so use to seeing her in the dress beforehand. She had worn dresses all her life…he had been surprised that she had been willing to make such a change in her lifestyle so quickly. She was half kneeling on the bed, leaning over Jor and seemed to be pulling on his muzzle.

"Khila?" he called quietly as he approached.

She stopped tugging but didn't let go of the metal cage. She turned her face to him. "I can't get it off him." she said, her voice strained as if tight with held back tears.

"I'm not surprised; it's solid."

"But you could get mine off of me…why can't I get his off of him?"

"Because I didn't remove yours that way."

"Well how did you then?"

"I had to heat up the metal before I could break it."

"Oh…" she released the muzzle and carefully laid Jor's head back down. "I don't have a way to do that."

"Yes you do. I gave it to you." He said, laying one hand on her shoulder.

"What do you mean?" she looked up at him like a confused child.

"Your Dark Gifts; I gave you a form of Immolate. You seem, however, to pass out from doing so as if to prevent self combustion. If you can control it; you can easily break that muzzle."

"I don't know how."

"Try."

"I'll just pass out again."

"Then you will wake up and try again. And again and again until you learn to guide it."

She gave him a firm nod and took hold of the muzzle once more. She acquired an almost constipated expression as she tried to force her strange type of Immolate to work.

"Don't strain yourself." Kain said. "You don't want to rupture something."

She gave a frustrated grunt and stopped giving herself a hernia. "I can't do it."

"You've barely tried."

She shook her head but gave it another go regardless…again Kain had to prevent her from bursting with the strain. "I don't think that forcing it is going to help in the slightest. Just relax, concentrate and let it flow."

"Sounds so easy…" she sighed and decided that it was about time to try again.

She closed her eyes and this time tried a new tactic as Kain had suggested. She curled her claws around the muzzle's bars and tried some gentle encouragement rather then outright bullying to persuade the Dark Gift to come forward. The Dark heat began to rise again and as before so did the sickly drowsiness that was the bane of her new Gift. With grim determination she fought against the desire to keel over backwards and focused every conscious thought she had on what she was doing.

"Don't force it, just _guide_ it. Heat and flame are not animals that can be simply tamed and controlled." Kain advised and watched with fascination.

The heat haze was a welcome arrival to the scene; rising from her hands as it signified that she was finally getting the hang of it; the last two times she had passed out before the heat haze had arrived. By this time, however, all she wanted to do was pass out, as trying to hold the burning inside her solely in her hands was making her want to chop her own hands off to stop the horrific sensation within them that made her feel her blood was boiling in her veins.

The metal she held began to hiss while it slowly changed in colour from darkened grey to a dully glowing, deep orange. Seeing that it had softened, she easily pulled the muzzle away from itself, the bars splitting with little resistance. With it broken she released the hold she had on the Dark Gift and instantly felt all of the discomfort and sickness fade away, back from whence they came. Flinging the mangled mess of semi softened metal framework in a victorious gesture she turned and flung her arms around Kain's neck in a celebratory embrace, excitedly uttering the words "I did it!"

Kain was somewhat shocked by the action, but was happy that she was so enthusiastic about the completion of her first controlled and deliberate use of a Dark Gift. The way her entire self seemed to beam with pride and triumph reminded him of when he had been teaching his sons to use _their_ Gifts. He distinctly remembered the spring in Rahab's step and the smile on his face that had been present all night after he had first managed to hit something with a telekinetic bolt without it being an accident.

Khila gave a happy sigh, her face buried against his neck and in that instant Kain was suddenly extremely aware of how close he was to her…so close he could feel her chest press against his as she breathed and her breath against his skin.

_This is wrong. _He told himself. _This feeling…can't be right…_

She looked up, resting her head on his shoulder with a smug grin plastered on her face.

_Wrong…this is all wrong. _But even as he said it in his thoughts he unconsciously settled his hands on her waist, resting on the curve of her hips.

But it didn't matter what he yelled at himself, he found that he just didn't want to end it…there were other little thoughts racing around in the privacy of his mind along with the self warnings.

Khila leaned her head back, still watching him and not in the least bit tired any more after the Gift lesson, and laid her arms on his broad shoulders rather than around them. She smiled again. "I can't believe it worked!"

He raised one hand up and tucked a few stray silky strands of her hair behind her ear before laying the same hand on her cheek and drawing his thumb claw over her lips.

The action suddenly made her realise why he was looking at her the way he was. Originally she had just thought he was returning the gesture in a way…but now knew it meant a little more than her initial naïve thought about their togetherness.

He closed his eyes and let her scent fill his senses…wondering if the way she smelt was the way that he smelt. It was an odd thing to wonder but he couldn't help it.

Khila was somewhat torn as she didn't know how to react to this…she knew what she thought she _aught_ to do but…her rather tragic past had added up to such confusion within her when it came to these feelings. As a human she had been innocent, in the biblical sense of the word, but that had been well and truly lost to Caucahn in various violent and torturous ways that were the source of 'the scars that don't show on the outside.' Her Hylden master had been a cruel and malicious sadist, who revelled in the misery and pain he could inflict upon her, both mental and disgustingly physical. She wasn't overly fond of the way Kain was looking at her…she would never tell him but it reminded her a little of the way Caucahn looked at her sometimes…as though he couldn't decide what to make of her…or what to do with her.

However, the reason for the 'look' was simply because Kain was likewise unsure and vaguely uneasy, if truth be told…but for far different reasons to her. He had never been abused or tortured in such a way as she, but he never really had good relations with women; manipulation and deceit had been a staple part of any 'relationships' he had had. The only women of any memorable significance in his life had both been traitors; Ariel and Umah. One a ghost who had ordered him on quests, kept vital information from him and then had asked him to commit suicide, while the other was an overly buxom, deceiving creature that had tried to steal everything from him and then had dared to beg for his aid when she could have easily have been the first to ever experience true compassion and care from the cold vampire overlord. His human past was long gone and forgotten and as emperor of Nosgoth any closeness he had had with those of the female persuasion had usually lasted all of one night…or as long as it took him to grow bored. The only women that hadn't tried to mess him about had been few; the Seer…and Khila.

Again he cupped the side of her face with one hand and closed his eyes but this time he pressed his lips to hers in a simple, soft and passionate kiss. For a moment as he felt his lips join hers all he felt was an inexplicable sickening fear begin to swell in the pit of his stomach…but that fear was short lived and the sickening soon settled into a rising fluttering that wasn't too unpleasant.

He felt her small claws trace along the scar that crossed his abdomen and he couldn't help but shudder at the touch. It wasn't even as if the skin was sensitive anymore…it hadn't been for centuries…maybe even millennia…but having her deliberately stroke along its length just reminded him that it was there. He did so try to forget.

As if in response to that she felt him slide his tongue into her mouth to drag over the tips of her fangs while his hands began to caress her waist.

Her claws moved up to bury themselves in his silvery white hair that was identical to her own and as she did this Kain let his palms drift slowly down her body, over her chest and down to her hips again, lovingly following the contours of her figure. He released her mouth to instead kiss her neck, allowing his teeth to drag over her skin.

"What are you doing?" he heard her mumble almost nervously. It wasn't as though she didn't enjoy it…but it was also slightly unnerving.

Lost in the moment as he was, he neglected to give her an answer. He could feel her blood pulsing through the veins just below her skin and every part of his being screamed out for him to draw it out of her. His tongue lapped against her soft warm flesh as the bloodlust inside of him snaked its way though his thoughts and wrapped about them like vines; poisoning what could have remained pure and beautiful for both of them. Now influenced solely by his vampiric desires a slow smile spread, his lips locked against her neck and his jaws clamped together, forcing his fangs into her jugular.

She screamed out loud and slammed both fists against him. He ignored her and simply crushed her tighter against him to prevent her struggling.

"Let me go! You're hurting me! Stop!" she cried out but her words were not heard; he wasn't listening…"Please!"

She felt his bite intensify and wished she had a way to stop him. She didn't blame or curse him for this turn of events, as she had felt that way inclined herself if she was going to be honest. The problem was that it had been a while since he had been able to sink his teeth into anything or anyone and being so close to her had just reminded his instincts of that…as she contemplated this, the pain faded and it didn't seem so bad anymore, more of an uncomfortable tingling than anything else. She remembered what she had done to Maddrell…her form of Charm; she _could_ force him off of her if she wanted to. Her expression lessened from pain to contentment, she buried her claws into his hair, rested her head on his and let him do as he pleased. After all, it was the least she could do after all that he had done for her.

"So long as you give me a smile." She whispered, stroking him in a soothing manner.

This, Kain did hear and it was enough to help loosen his lust's grip on his conscious thoughts. He pulled his teeth from the punctures in her skin and tried to rectify any discomfort he had caused by returning to kissing deeply her in the manner in which they had begun.

She tasted her own blood in and on his mouth and for some reason she found it more arousing than disgusting. Any barriers that there may have still been between them were shattered in an instant. Khila didn't care what may have been inflicted on her in the past; Kain was not Caucahn no matter how he looked at her sometimes. His touch, sliding under her shirt to make contact with her bare skin, though somewhat rough was not intended to hurt or humiliate her. She relaxed into his hold while small encouraging moans of delight escaped her throat as his palms pressed against the swells of her chest.

Warmth coiled in his stomach and he began to feel himself throbbing with undeniable lust. Moments later he was almost taken aback by Khila's uncharacteristic boldness when he felt her more delicate claws sliding under the waistband of his leather trousers, below the straps that secured them to him.

They were both far too engrossed in their increasingly intimate embrace to notice the footsteps echoing towards the room…or the handle begin to turn…or the door swinging open…or Maddrell stepping quietly inside.

Well…almost quietly…

"Ye gods!" The Razielim exclaimed. "I didn't need to see that!" and he covered his eyes with his hands while trying to back blindly out of the door. Unfortunately all he managed to do was lean on it and close it, with him still inside.

Kain and Khila quickly removed their hands from where they were buried under various items of disarrayed clothing and took a step back. Khila's face flushed and she started rubbing her hands while Kain simply glared at the intruder…and adjusted his trousers.

"It is usual to knock before making ones presence known in a room." he growled. "I shall assumed that you _have_ heard of manners?"

"I'm scarred for life." Maddrell mumbled and lowered his hands. "You're sick…I remember what I said, but this is ridiculous. What were you _thinking_! Actually, I don't want that answered."

"Stop babbling, what do you want?" he wasn't getting any calmer. It had been a long time since had been able to actually enjoy himself in a way that didn't involve killing people that deserved it. He did not appreciate being so rudely made to desist. Though in way, maybe it was best that they didn't take it any further. After all, realistically, it was less like narcissism and more like _incest_.

"I came to collect the body and the bones, what do you think!"

Khila wasn't sure what to do now…she had to admit that she had been enjoying it as well; she had been willing to give in completely to him, something that she had never felt when Caucahn had forced her into things. She had always fought her former master in those situations even though it made him treat her worse.

"Well you may as well get on with it." Kain said and gestured to the corpse. "Nothing is getting in your way now."

"Too damn right." he stated while pushing past them both to pick up Jor's body in his arms, as his wings made it awkward to sling it over his shoulder. He then gestured to Khila. "If you're not too _busy_ would you kindly grab those bones and bring them for me, Kitten?"

"Stop calling me Kitten." She grumbled, opened the door for him and then stepped over to the chest where the bones were kept. "I'll catch you up."

"Alright…good grief." He muttered as he exited the room, taking Jor's remains with him to where the pyre had been set.

Khila bent down, grasping the bottom edges of the chest and hefted them into cradled arms against herself. "Perhaps now wasn't the right time." She said shyly, all but trying to hide behind that which she now held.

"Time is something I have had my fill of." Kain sighed while perching on the edge of the bed, leaning back on his hands and closing his eyes, face tilted to the ceiling. "People have always been trying to control my time...so, I plan to make my own time from now on."

Khila paused at the door. "Can I help?"

-_End-_

_Author's (second) Note – Ooh, what a crappy ending and not a lot happened really, did it? I hope I haven't offended anyone, as I know there are quite a few of you who told me not to write anything like this. It was only an experiment. Please don't flame me. _


	15. A 02 Obsession

Disclaimer – I don't own Legacy of Kain. If I did, I wouldn't be doing this.

Beyond the Edge: Additional

_(These are the odd bits that got written because I was asked to or I just fancied doing them at the time but had no place for them in the actual plot.)_

**Title - **Obsession

**Rating - **PG-13…err…T.

**Genre - **Horror/Angst/Drama

**Location** – It's a bit self evident when you read it but it was meant to happen in the space between where Khila leaves Kain while he sleep and before the voices turn up.

**Type –** Removed.

**Notes – **There was always meant to be a flashback but I cut it out half way through writing it because I thought that the fic was starting to become too Khila-centric and I figured that her past was evident enough without it.

**-x-**

"Still…I'm glad you came back." She said as she looked over at him, even though she knew he couldn't hear her.

She figured that she should leave him to his rest and so left the small room. She was a quiet person who could spend an indefinite amount of time doing absolutely nothing at all but she felt it rude to remain when she had not been told to; that she was invading his privacy by seeing him so vulnerable.

She went back to the Pillars room and sat herself neatly in the throne, crossing her legs and smoothing her dress out over them. With a bowed head and rubbing her claws in her lap she did what she did best; she daydreamed, remembered and thought quietly.

She still couldn't quite believe that asleep upstairs was the real Kain; the legend. She remembered all of the things she had read about him…how fascinated she had been. She would sneak into the library on many an occasion, grab the same volume and engross herself in its contents, learning all she could.

Caucahn told her repeatedly and frequently that she looked like him and that was why she risked severe punishment to absorb all that was available about him.

Her master had treated her so badly all because of her resemblance to the vampire that was said to be some kind of prophesised destroyer of the sovereign race. Caucahn had only ever caught her reading once in her whole time with him and he had had strange reaction…it had been after one of his more malicious moods…

Shaking uncontrollably in fear and pain, she huddled in a corner of Caucahn's bed chamber, holding herself tight and trying not to look at the blood, her own blood that smeared her body and most of the room around her. Above her hovered the same sickening sadistic grin that Caucahn always wore while he 'played' with her and that had been a particularly fun night for him…so fun that he thought it such a shame that it had been over so quickly. Still…there was more than one way to amuse himself with his little pet.

With a worryingly gentle hand he ran his fingers through her hair, brushing it out of her sweat slick face and tear stung eyes. "_This,_" He said calmly, "is what reminds me most of that foul beast; it's exactly the same as his. I keep thinking that I should have it dyed black.

His vaguely peaceful composure disappeared in a split second and he viciously grabbed a thick handful of her hair so he could use it to pull her up to her feet and slam her against the wall. She yelped and grabbed at his hand to no avail.

"But I think that removing it would be _far _more satisfying." he sneered, yanking harder.

He didn't even bother to go to the sideboard to collect a pair of scissors, he simply just began to tear her hair straight out of her scalp while she screamed and blood began to seep down her face and over his hands.

It wasn't the first time and neither would it be the last, but it never got any easier. As he continued to rip out bloody chunks and strands he roared and yelled at her, calling her by the name that he despised so greatly; Kain, the Hylden's greatest single adversary. She looked quite like him and it caused Caucahn great pleasure it see her face twisted in agony and distress. When it was discovered that she hadn't turned out right they had offered to make him another but he had chosen to keep her…purely so he could pretend.

After a while, as always, he grew bored of her. Her screaming would never lessen, her protests and struggles would not be quelled; though he could make her tremble and shriek he could never break her…and when that sank into his frozen soul he would discard her, before rebellion could grow within. He had to leave her with the memory of fear. This time was no different. Grasping her tightly around one wrists so that he could feel her bones twisting under his palm he threw her out into the corridor and slammed the door shut without even a glance to her, tossing her aside as if she were a piece of rubbish, an unwanted item.

Same as ever she curled up into a ball in the same spot she had fallen and waited for the pain to go away. None of the worker servants or sovereign guards took even a glance at her; they just stepped around the bloodstained pet and went about their duties. The workers knew to get on with their jobs or face punishment and the guards knew not to touch Lord Caucahn's favourite toy.

Breathing heavily to comfort herself, to remind herself she had not become a true still and rotting corpse, she waited for her wounds to knit together and for her hair and scalp to re-grow. Eventually, with the skin smooth over her head, the threads of white snaked their way out, pristine in their flawless and unstained colour, until they lay back over her sweat damp shoulders and the floor around. When she felt the last of the shakes fade away, she crawled back to her feet and then ran full-tilt for the small space she called her own.

Her master had assigned her a place to go to when he had no use for her; a tiny cell, barely big enough move about in. There was just enough space to awkwardly dress, undress and to curl into a corner to sleep. Caucahn had given her nothing for it; nothing to sleep on nor anything to light it, but she didn't care. She left it dark because she knew that shadows were the only things that did not hurt her and she left the floor without a covering because she slept so little anyway. She fished around in the dark for a clean dress and quickly clothed herself in it.

For a while she just sat in the dark and enjoyed the fact that she was utterly alone…she remembered that when she was first brought here she had wished for company that would not want to make her scream. But now she knew that there was no-one in the world who could feel anything more than disgust for her and resigned herself to staying away from everyone and everything.

Well, nearly everything. There was one thing that she could think of that she actually enjoyed doing to pass the time. It was, albeit, a dangerous thing but it was a pastime of a sort nonetheless.

She was completely ignored, as per usual, as she wandered around. Every so often she might pass a visiting sovereign who would give her a look which suggested she was diseased but otherwise she was invisible to the world, making her way to the library that Caucahn kept in one of the highest regions of the castle. Venturing up numerous flights of stairs, countless corridors, the miniature museum (which she took pains not to look at the contents of as it often upset her) a hall of sorts she reached the door of the library itself. It was at this point that the chose to halt and lean briefly against the library door. It was rare that anyone but Caucahn should proceed past the display room but she always checked just in case. Who knew what kind of hell he would find for her to suffer in if she were found doing what she was about to do. Satisfied that she was utterly alone she opened the door by a fraction and slid inside without a sound.

The library was, to put in into short words, massive. For private collection it was undisputedly the largest in Nosgoth. Obviously the official libraries would hold more but Caucahn's was uniquely vast, being owned by one who hunted down and bought every single one himself for its rarity value. Every scrap of parchment and paper in the place was either one of a kind or one of an extremely small number…either that or they had a story behind them as well as in them.

She knew exactly which shelf she wanted and exactly where her desired tome would be as she always put it back in the place she had originally got it from about a month ago when she had started reading it. She was a slow reader, never really having anything remotely describable as an education, so she was still only near the beginning of the two and half inch thick volume but she was persistent and diligent and now spent every single moment she could wrapped up in its contents; the life and times of one of the old rulers of Nosgoth, Kain.

It mystified her as to why Caucahn was so insistent that he have this book when he despised the long dead vampire so greatly. She understood other things, like the murals depicting Kain's death and even the way she was treated for looking something like him…but why would her sovereign master want a book written by workers hands during the sovereign conquest of Nosgoth that spoke of Kain in an almost reverent manner, recalling the stories of him passed down by word of mouth through the bloodlines of his sons?

If she was going to be called his name then she was damn well going to know as much about him as she could…maybe one day when she had committed most of it to memory she might surprise Caucahn by acting like him. '_See if you like _that' she though to herself. Though in her heart she realised she would probably never find the courage to do such a thing and the punishment would be beyond anything she could imagine…but to see Caucahn falter for just a second would more than likely make it all worthwhile.

She shuffled herself into a corner near the door; flipped back to the page she had last stopped on and lost herself in the stories and the detailed drawings.

Unfortunately this was not the best of days to engage in such an activity, as she had reached quite an interesting part and thus she was quite unaware of the footsteps reaching the door. She sat by the door so that she could hear someone approach, and if she did she would hurriedly put the book away and then make it look as if she were cleaning or generally trying to be something along the lines of useful. However, this time she didn't hear Caucahn coming and was smashed against the wall as he flung the doors open. He was in a bad mood due to some rather bad news bout the recent actions of the Vetus vampires. Striding into the library he was, at first, unaware that his pet was behind the door with a slightly torn book in her lap and nursing a broken nose and sore face through her muzzle. He turned, annoyed, to see what had been left lying around to stop the door slamming against the wall as he had wanted it to and was somewhat surprised to see her; so surprised, in fact, that for a second he merely gawped. Of course he knew that she dared to venture up here every so often but he had never imagined that she did so to _read_. He hadn't even though she could, let alone would want to. He didn't remain dumbfounded for long and was soon back to his normal ways; grabbing her by the collarbone and tossing her aside while snatching the book from her grasp.

"Who told you to come up here!" he roared, smacking her around the face with the hardback volume he had snatched. "Well, answer me!"

"No one!"

"Then why are you here!"

"I…I'm sorry…"

He, finally, looked at which of the books it was that he was presently holding. "This. You were reading _this_? Hah! So, this is what's been behind it; getting ideas were you?" he assumed that it was what she had absorbed from the pages that made her so hard to break…she must learning something from it. He couldn't let it turn into a greater problem…just like always it was imperative that he stopped any ideas before they fully bloomed.

In half the time it took her to get up to the library she was dragged back down again by one hand behind Caucahn who had a determined expression on his face and the book tucked under one arm. He took her out to the other side of his castle, to a balcony overlooking the city he ruled.

On either side out on the balcony were two braziers on iron stands, one of which Caucahn grabbed and moved to the centre.

He then let her go and waved his arm over the view. "You see all of this, pet? Do you?"

"Uh…yes, sir."

"Do you have any idea how long it has been this way? How long Nosgoth has been under the rule of the Hylden." He seemed quite calm…which terrified her more than the times when he was doing his best to make her cry.

"No, sir…"

"It's been this way since far before any living creature's memory…save, perhaps, one of those disgusting Vetus." He frowned at this thought. "But no matter. All you need to understand is that sovereigns rule, workers do as they are told and vampires stay quiet and be good little toys unless they want to spend an eternity in agony. That is the way things are and always shall be. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." She was exceptionally nervous now, why the hell did he drag her all the way up here just to tell her what she had been told all of her life?

"Everyone stays in their rightful place and the world turns. Just as it should. Which is more than can be said for the time when this creature walked freely about the place, daring to think he was any better than the rest of the scum he calls a species." At this point he waved the book at her. "He's dead now. Well and truly dead and we should all be glad of it."

She merely stood and watched him as he snarled and then dropped the book, open, into the brazier that he had moved, on top of the burning coals.

"I have a meeting with Lady Lorfae for the next half hour or so," Caucahn announced, taking hold of her muzzle and dragging her head around to face him so that she had no choice but to turn her gaze from the pages that were already darkening and shrinking away as the heat destroyed them. "And I hear she has brought her own pet with her. So, after the meeting I expect to find you in my chamber and in a compliant mood. The meeting will be quite stressful and Lorfae and I will require some…fun…to ease it. I assure you that you and her little toy will entertain us."

With that he walked away.

She didn't spare a thought for what he had just said and the implications of it as her mind was completely centred on the leather bound pages that had caught light and were quickly enveloping the whole thing in flames.

Without a thought she plunged her hand into the fire and coals, extracting the scorched and charred volume before further damage could be done and clutched it to her chest as if in a comforting embrace, effectively extinguishing the flames. She held the book out in front of her. "You poor thing." She said, as if it were a living entity that could understand her strange sympathy for it.

Rifling through the pages she found that it had not been open at the middle when he had dumped it down to be destroyed. It had only really been the front cover and the title page that had touched the coals. What had turned to ash luckily seemed to be pages she had already struggled her way through.

Without another word she retreated to her little cubby hole, leaving the door open to allow some light in, and read until the time her presence was required.

Khila sighed and looked back around the chamber. It had been a long while since she had finished reading that book and in the end Caucahn found that she had 'rescued' it…in fact, it had been for exactly that reason she had been tied up in the rain just a few long hours ago. Because of her obsession with him, she had been out there for him to find.

"How poetic." She mumbled to herself, and wondered if he was still asleep.

_-END-_

_Author's Note (Yes, another one) – Hope you liked. As I mentioned before it never made it into the fic because I wanted it centred on Kain, not Khila and I thought it might have begun to give away what she was a little early because of the emphasis on his and her similarity in appearance. _

_Anyway, woohoo! 100+ reviews party! Cookies and cake for all! You are wonderful people, thankee muchly._

_Before I go I have a few announcements – _

_1) The prequel to Beyond the Edge will be uploaded next week, so keep an eye out if you are interested. It's still called Flight of the Butterfly Man, it's centred on Maddrell and Raziel will feature in it. (And he's a lot more Raz-like than how he ended up in BtE, I promise)_

_2) BtE Additional is not quite over yet, more is on its way but it may take a while. I am also trying to come up with a sequel._

_3) If you liked the way Kain was portrayed in BtE (ie, him actually having emotions as well as being a killer and tyrant when need be) thenyou might enjoymy one-shot Necessary Evil, go check it out. _

_Well, I'm off for now to edit FotBM. Hope I'll see you there._


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